Yfe 


AMERICA 
PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL,  PHILADELPHIA 


4r» 


AMERICA 


PICTURESQUE  fc?  DESCRIP- 
TIVE :  By  JOEL  COOK 
7N  THREE  VOLUMES*)  WITH 
ILLUSTRATIONS    IN     COLOR 

VOLUME  ONE 


P     •     F     •     COLLIER      &      SON 
PUBLISHERS  NEW      YORK 


E/fcJ 

v.  I 


Copyrig  hi  i  goo 
By  Henry  T.  Coates 
and    Company 


CONTENTS 

Volume  1 


I.  The  Environment  op  Chesapeake  Bay, 
II.  The  Great  Theatre  op  the  Civil  War, 

III.  The  Valley  op  the  Delaware, 

IV.  Crossing  the  Alleghenies, 
V.  Visiting  the  Sunny  South,       .        • 

VI.  Traversing  the  Prairie  Land, 
VII.  Glimpses  op  the  Great  Northwest, 


PAGE 

3 

99 
143 

275, 
343 
401 
447 


2847 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOLUME  ONE 


FULL  PAGES  IN  COLOR 

Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia 

The  Mount  op  the  Holy  Cross 

The  Domes  op  the  Yosemite 

BLACK  AND  WHITE  PLATES 

The  Capitol,  "Washington ". Frontispiece 

Grant  Monument,  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia 

Tunnel  Near  Girard  Avenue  Bridge,  Philadelphia 

General  "View  op  the  Naval  Academy,  Annapolis 

Fort  Sumter,  Charleston,  S.  C 

Home  op  "Washington,  Mount  "Vernon 

Prairie  Avenue,  Chicago 

Hercules'  Pillars,  Colorado  River 

Upper  Yosemite  Falls 

Titanotherium  Pinnacle,  "Wyoming 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  American  is  naturally  proud  of  his  country, 
its  substantial  growth  and  wonderful  development, 
and  of  the  rapid  strides  it  is  making  among  the  fore- 
most nations  of  the  world.  No  matter  how  far  else- 
where the  American  citizen  may  have  travelled,  he 
cannot  know  too  much  of  the  United  States,  its  grand 
attractions  and  charming  environment.  Though  this 
great  and  vigorous  nation  is  young,  yet  it  has  a  his- 
tory that  is  full  of  interest,  and  a  literature  giving  a 
most  absorbing  story  of  rapid  growth  and  patriotic 
progress,  replete  with  romance,  poetry  and  a  unique 
folklore! 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  give  the  busy  reader 
in  acceptable  form  such  a  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge as  he  would  like  to  have,  of  the  geography, 
history,  picturesque  attractions,  peculiarities,  pro- 
ductions and  most  salient  features  of  our  great 
country.  The  intention  has  been  to  make  the  book 
not  only  a  work  of  reference,  but  a  work  of  art 
and  of  interest  as  well,  and  it  is  burdened  neither 
with  too  much  statistics  nor  too  intricate  prolixity 
of  description.     It  covers  the  Continent  of  North 

(Ui) 


ir  INTKODUCTION. 

America,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Canadian  Dominion  and 
Alaska.  It  has  been  prepared  mainly  from  notes 
specially  taken  by  the  author  during  many  years  of 
extended  travel  all  over  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  A  method  of  treatment  of  the  compre- 
hensive subject  has  been  followed  which  is  similar  to 
the  plan  that  has  proved  acceptable  in  "  England, 
Picturesque  and  Descriptive."  The  work  has  been 
arranged  in  twenty-one  tours,  each  volume  begin- 
ning at  the  older  settlements  upon  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board; and  each  tour  describing  a  route  following 
very  much  the  lines  upon  which  a  travelling  sight- 
seer generally  advances  in  the  respective  directions 
taken.  The  book  is  presented  to  the  public  as  a 
contribution  to  a  general  knowledge  of  our  country, 
and  with  the  hope  that  the  reader,  recognizing  the 
difficulties  of  adequate  treatment  of  so  great  a  sub- 
ject, may  find  in  the  interest  it  inspires,  an  indulgent 
excuse  for  any  shortcomings. 

J.  C. 

Philadelphia,  September,  1900. 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  OF  CHESAPEAKE 
BAY. 


AMERICA,    Li 
PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  OF  CHESAPEAKE  BAY. 

The  First  Permanent  Settlement  in  North  America — Captain 
John  Smith — Jamestown — Chesapeake  Bay — The  City  of 
Washington — The  Capitol— The  White  House — Elaborate 
Public  Buildings— The  Treasury — The  State,  War  and  Navy 
Departments — The  Congressional  Library — The  Smithsonian 
Institution — Prof.  Joseph  Henry — The  Soldiers'  Home — Agri- 
cultural Department — Washington  Monument — City  of  Mag- 
nificent Distances — Potomac  River — Allegheny  Mountains — 
The  Kittatinny  Range — Harper's  Ferry — John  Brown — The 
Great  Falls  —  Alexandria — Mount  Vernon — Washington's 
Home  and  Tomb — Washington  Relics — Key  of  the  Bastille — 
Rappahannock  River  —  Fredericksburg  —  Mary  Ball,  the 
Mother  of  Washington — York  River— The  Peninsula — Wil- 
liamsburg— Yorktown — Cornwallis'  Surrender — James  River 
— The  Natural  Bridge  —  Lynchburg  —  Appomattox  Court- 
House — Lee's  Surrender — Powhatan — Dutch  Gap— Varina — 
Pocahontas — Her  Wedding  to  Rolfe— Her  Descendants,  the 
"First  Families  of  Virginia" — Deep  Bottom — Malvern  Hill 
— General  McClellan's  Seven  Days'  Battles  and  Retreat — 
Bermuda  Hundred — General  Butler — Shirley — Appomattox 
River  —  Petersburg  —  General  Grant' s  Headquarters  —  City 
Point — Harrison' s  Landing — Berkeley — Westover— William 
Byrd — Chickahominy  River— Jamestown  Island — Gold  Hunt- 
ing—The Northwest  Passage— First  Corn-Planting— Indian 
Habits— First  House  of  Burgesses — Tobacco-Growing— Vir- 
ginia Planters — Importing  Negro  Slaves— Newport  News— 

(3) 


4     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE* 

J4erriinac  arid  Mdnifw  Contest — Hampton  Roads — Hampton 
,    rrCHd  .Foint  Comfort — Fortress  Monroe — Fort  Algernon — 
;'.\  Forf  'VTooi-f-Jiizab^tli- River—Norfolk— Portsmouth— Great 
Dismal  Swamp — The  Eastern  Shore — The  Oyster  Navy — 
William    Claiborne — Kent     Island — Lord    Baltimore — The 
*  Maryland    Palatinate — Leonard    Calvert's    Expedition — St 
Mary's— Patuxent  River — St.  Inigoe's — Severn  River — An- 
napolis— United  States  Naval  Academy — Patapsco  River- 
Baltimore — Jones's   Falls— Washington    Monument — Battle 
Monument — Johns  Hopkins  and  his  Benefactions — Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad — Druid  Hill — Greenmount  Cemetery- 
Fort  McHenry — The  Star-Spangled  Banner. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN   SMITH. 

When  Captain  Christopher  Newport's  expedition 
of  three  little  ships  and  one  hundred  and  five  men, 
sent  out  by  the  "Virginia  Company "  to  colonize 
America,  after  four  months'  buffeting  by  the  rough 
winter  storms  of  the  North  Atlantic,  sought  a  harbor 
of  refuge  in  May,  1607,  they  sailed  into  Chesapeake 
Bay.  These  three  little  ships  were  the  "  Susan  Con- 
stant," the  "Good  Speed"  and  the  "Discovery;"  and 
upon  them  came  Captain  John  Smith,  the  renowned 
adventurer,  who,  with  Newport,  founded  the  first  per- 
manent settlement  in  North  America,  the  colony  of 
Jamestown.  The  king  who  chartered  the  "  Virginia 
Company  "  was  James  I.,  and  hence  the  name.  As 
the  fleet  sailed  into  the  "  fair  bay,"  as  Smith  called 
it,  the  headlands  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  were 
named  Cape  Charles  and  Cape  Henry,  for  the  king's 
two  sons.  Their  first  anchorage  was  in  a  roadstead 
of  such  attractive  character  that  they  named  the  ad- 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH.  5 

jacent  land  Point  Comfort,  which  it  retains  to  this 
day;  and  farther  inland,  where  Captain  Newport 
afterwards  came,  in  hopes  of  getting  news  from 
home,  is  now  the  busy  port  and  town  of  Newport 
News.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  the  previous  century, 
had  sent  out  his  ill-starred  expedition  to  Roanoke, 
which  had  first  entered  this  great  bay  j  and  at  the 
Elizabeth  River,  which  they  had  named  in  honor  of 
Raleigh's  queen,  they  found  the  Indian  village  of 
Chesapik,  meaning  "  the  mother  of  waters  j"  and 
from  this  came  the  name  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  Ra- 
leigh had  landed  colonists  here,  as  well  as  at  Roanoke, 
and  when  the  "  Virginia  Company ,;  sent  out  New- 
port's expedition  it  laid  three  commands  upon  those 
in  charge :  First,  they  were  to  seek  Raleigh's  lost 
colonists  ;  second,  they  were  to  find  gold  ;  and  third, 
they  were  to  search  for  the  "northwest  passage" 
through  America  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  So  strong 
was  the  belief  in  finding  gold  in  the  New  World  that 
the  only  consideration  King  James  asked  for  his 
charter  was  the  stipulation  that  the  "  Virginia  Com- 
pany "  should  pay  him  one-fifth  of  the  gold  and  silver 
found  in  its  possessions. 

As  none  of  Raleigh's  colonists  could  be  found,  the 
expedition  sailed  up  the  James  River  after  consider- 
able delay,  and,  selecting  a  better  place  for  a  settle- 
ment, landed  at  Jamestown  May  13,  1607,  where 
Smith  became  their  acknowledged  leader,  and  pre- 
served the  permanency  of  the  colony.     This  famous 


6     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

navigator  and  colonist  was  a  native  of  Willoughby,  in 
Lincolnshire,  England,  born  in  January,  1579.  When 
scarcely  more  than  a  boy  he  fought  in  the  wars  of 
Holland,  and  then  he  wandered  through  Europe  and 
as  far  as  Egypt,  afterwards  returning  to  engage  in 
the  conflict  against  the  Turks  in  Hungary.  Here  he 
won  great  renown,  fighting  many  desperate  combats, 
and  in  one  engagement  cutting  off  three  Turks'  heads  j 
but  he  was  finally  wounded  and  captured.  The  sober, 
investigating  historians  of  a  later  day  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  doubt  some  of  Smith's  wonderful  tales  of 
these  remarkable  adventures,  but  he  must  have  done 
something  heroic  to  season  him  for  the  hardy  work 
of  the  pioneer  who  was  the  first  to  succeed  in  plant- 
ing a  colony  in  North  America.  After  the  Turks 
made  him  a  prisoner,  he  was  sold  as  a  slave  in  Con- 
stantinople, being  condemned  to  the  hardest  and  most 
revolting  kinds  of  labor,  until  he  became  desperate 
under  the  cruelties  and  escaped.  Then  he  was  for  a 
long  time  a  wanderer  through  the  wilderness,  travers- 
ing the  forests  of  Russia,  and  pushing  his  way  alone 
across  Europe,  until,  almost  worn  out  with  fatigue 
and  hardships,  he  arrived  in  England  just  at  the  time 
Newport's  expedition  was  being  fitted  out ;  and  still 
having  an  irrepressible  love  for  adventure,  he  joined  it. 

CHESAPEAKE  BAY. 

There  can  be  no  better  place  for  beginning  a  sur- 
vey of  our  country  than  upon  this  great  bay,  which 


CHESAPEAKE  BAY.  7 

Smith  and  his  companions  entered  in  1607.  Chesa- 
peake Bay  is  the  largest  inland  sea  on  the  Atlantic 
Coast  of  the  United  States.  It  stretches  for  two 
hundred  miles  up  into  the  land,  between  the  low  and 
fertile  shores  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  both  of 
which  States  it  divides,  and  thus  gives  them  valuable 
navigation  facilities.  In  its  many  arms  and  estu- 
aries are  the  resting-places  for  the  luscious  oysters 
which  its  people  send  all  over  the  world.  It  is  one 
of  the  greatest  of  food-producers,  having  a  larger 
variety  of  tempting  luxuries  for  the  palate  than  prob- 
ably any  other  region.  Along  its  shores  and  upon 
its  islands  are  numberless  popular  resorts  for  fishing 
and  shooting,  for  its  tender  and  amply-supplied 
water-foods  attract  the  ducks  and  other  wild  fowl  in 
countless  thousands,  and  bring  in  shoals  of  the  sea- 
fishes,  which  are  the  sportsmen's  coveted  game.  Its 
terrapin  are  famous,  while  its  shores  and  border- 
lands, particularly  on  the  eastern  side,  are  a  series 
of  orchards  and  market-gardens,  providing  limitless 
supplies  of  fruits,  berries  and  vegetables  for  the 
Northern  markets.  It  receives  in  its  generally  placid 
bosom  some  of  the  greatest  rivers  flowing  down  from 
the  Allegheny  Mountains.  The  broad  Susquehanna, 
coming  through  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  makes 
its  headwaters,  and  it  receives  the  Potomac,  divid- 
ing Maryland  from  Virginia,  and  the  James,  in 
Virginia,  both  of  them  wide  estuaries  with  an  enor- 
mous outflow  j  and  also  numerous  smaller  streams, 


8     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

such  as  the  Rappahannock,  York,  Patuxent,  Patapsco, 
Choptank  and  Elizabeth  Rivers.  Extensive  lines  of 
profitable  commerce,  all  large  carriers  of  food-sup- 
plies, have  transport  over  this  great  bay  and  its 
many  arms  and  affluents.  Canals  connect  it  with 
other  interior  waters,  and  leading  railways  with  all 
parts  of  the  country,  while  there  are  several  noted 
cities  upon  its  shores  and  tributaries. 

THE    CITY   OF   WASHINGTON. 

The  most  famous  of  all  these  cities  of  the  Chesa- 
peake region  is  Washington,  upon  the  Potomac,  and 
we  will  therefore  begin  this  story  at  the  American 
National  Capital.  The  striking  thing  about  Wash- 
ington is  that,  unlike  other  capitals  of  great  nations, 
it  was  created  for  the  sole  purpose  of  a  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, apart  from  any  question  of  commercial 
rank  or  population.  It  has  neither  manufactures 
nor  commerce  to  speak  of.  After  the  adoption  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  there  was  a  protracted  con- 
flict in  Congress  over  the  claims  of  rival  localities  for 
the  seat  of  government,  and  this  developed  so  much 
jealousy  that  it  almost  disrupted  the  Union  at  its 
inception.  General  Washington,  then  the  President, 
used  his  strong  influence  and  wise  judgment  to  com- 
promise the  dispute,  and  it  was  finally  decided  that 
Philadelphia  should  remain  the  capital  for  ten  years, 
while  after  the  year  1800  it  should  be  located  on  the 
Potomac  River,  on  a  site  selected  by  Washington, 


THE  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  9 

within  a  district  of  one  hundred  square  miles,  ceded 
by  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  which,  to  avoid  any 
question  of  sovereignty  or  control,  should  be  under 
the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  Congress.  The  location 
was  at  the  time  nearly  in  the  geographical  centre  of 
the  then  thirteen  original  States.  As  the  city  was 
designed  entirely  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the 
Potomac,  the  Virginia  portion  of  the  "  Federal  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,"  as  it  was  called,  was  retroceded  in 
1826,  so  that  the  District  now  contains  about  sixty- 
five  square  miles.  The  capital  was  originally  called 
the  u  Federal  City,"  but  this  was  changed  by  law  in 
1791  to  the  "  City  of  Washington."  The  ground 
plan  of  the  place  was  ambitious,  and  laid  out  upon 
an  extensive  undulating  plateau  bordered  by  rolling 
hills  to  the  northward  and  westward,  and  sloping 
gently  towards  the  Potomac  River,  between  the 
main  stream  and  the  eastern  branch,  or  Anacostia 
River.  This  plan  has  been  well  described  as  "a 
wheel  laid  upon  a  gridiron,"  the  rectangular  arrange- 
ment of  the  ordinary  streets  having  superimposed 
upon  it  a  system  of  broad  radiating  avenues,  with 
the  Capitol  on  its  hill,  ninety  feet  high,  for  the 
centre.  The  Indians  called  the  place  Conococheague, 
or  the  "  roaring  water,"  from  a  rapid  brook  running 
through  it,  which  washed  the  base  of  the  Capitol 
Hill,  and  was  afterwards  very  properly  named  the 
Tiber,  but  has  since  degenerated  into  a  sewer.  A 
distinguished  French  engineer  of  the  time,  Major 


10     AMERICA    PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

I/Enfant,  prepared  the  topographical  plan  of  the 
city,  under  the  direction  of  Washington  and  Jeffer- 
son, who  was  Secretary  of  State  j  and  Andrew  Elli- 
cott,  a  prominent  local  survey  or ,  laid  it  out  upon  the 
ground.  The  basis  of  the  design  was  the  topography 
of  Versailles,  but  with  large  modifications  ;  and  thus 
was  laid  out  the  Capital  of  the  United  States,  which 
a  writer  in  the  London  Times,  some  years  ago,  called 
"  the  city  of  Philadelphia  griddled  across  the  city  of 
Versailles." 

The  original  designers  planned  a  city  five  miles 
long  and  three  miles  broad,  and  confidently  expected 
that  a  vast  metropolis  would  soon  be  created,  though 
in  practice  only  a  comparatively  limited  portion  was 
built  upon,  and  this  is  not  where  they  intended  the 
chief  part  of  the  new  city  to  be.  Of  late  years, 
however,  the  newer  portions  have  been  rapidly  ex- 
tending. No  man's  name  was  used  for  any  of  the 
streets  or  avenues,  as  this  might  cause  jealousy,  so 
the  streets  were  numbered  or  lettered  and  the  ave- 
nues named  after  the  States.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  Capitol  was  laid  in  1793,  its  front  facing  east 
upon  the  elevated  plateau  of  the  hill,  and  the  town 
was  to  have  been  mainly  built  upon  this  plateau  in 
front  of  it.  Behind  the  Capitol,  on  its  western  side, 
the  brow  of  the  hill  descended  rather  sharply,  and 
here  they  laid  out  a  wide  and  open  Mall,  westward 
over  the  lower  ground  to  the  bank  of  the  Potomac 
River,  more   than  a  mile  away.     Off  towards  the 


THE  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  11 

northwest,  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  diagonal  ave- 
nues, they  placed  the  Executive  Mansion,  with  ita 
extensive  park  and  gardens  stretching  southward  to 
the  river,  and  almost  joining  the  Mall  there  at  a  right 
angle.  The  design  was  to  have  the  city  in  an  ele- 
vated and  salubrious  location,  with  the  President 
secluded  in  a  comfortable  retreat  amid  ample  grounds, 
but  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  in  the  rural  re- 
gion. But  few  plans  eventuate  as  expected;  and 
such  is  the  perversity  of  human  nature  that  the  peo- 
ple, when  they  came  to  the  new  settlement,  would 
not  build  the  town  on  Capitol  Hill  as  had  been 
intended,  but  persisted  in  settling  upon  the  lower 
ground  along  and  adjacent  to  the  broad  avenue  lead- 
ing from  the  Capitol  to  the  Executive  Mansion ;  and 
there,  and  for  a  long  distance  beyond  the  latter  to 
the  northward  and  westward,  is  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton of  to-day.  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  wide,  joining  these  two  widely-sepa- 
rated Government  establishments  and  extending  far 
to  the  northwest,  thus  became  the  chief  street  of  the 
modern  city.  To  Washington  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment was  removed,  as  directed  by  law,  in  1800,  the 
actual  removal  being  conducted  by  Tobias  Lear,  who 
had  been  President  Washington's  private  secretary, 
and  was  then  serving  in  similar  capacity  for  President 
John  Adams.  He  packed  the  whole  archives  and 
belongings  of  the  then  United  States  Government  at 
Philadelphia  in  twenty-eight  wooden  boxes,  loaded 


12     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

them  on  a  sloop,  sailed  down  the  Delaware,  around 
to  the  Chesapeake,  and  up  the  Potomac  to  the  new 
capital,  and  took  possession.  The  original  Capitol 
and  Executive  Mansion  were  burnt  by  the  British 
during  their  invasion  in  1814,  when  Washington  had 
about  ten  thousand  population ;  it  now  contains  over 
three  hundred  thousand,  of  whom  fifty  thousand  are 
army  and  navy  officers  and  civil  servants  and  their 
families,  and  about  eighty  thousand  are  colored 
people. 

THE  CAPITOL. 

The  crowning  glory  of  Washington  is  the  Capitol, 
its  towering  dome,  surmounted  by  the  colossal  statue 
of  America,  being  the  prominent  landmark,  seen  from 
afar,  on  every  approach  to  the  city.  The  total  height 
to  the  top  of  the  statue  is  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  feet  above  the  Potomac  Kiver  level.  The  grand 
position,  vast  architectural  mass  and  impressive  effect 
of  the  Capitol  from  almost  every  point  of  view  have 
secured  for  it  the  praise  of  the  best  artistic  judges  of 
all  countries  as  the  most  imposing  modern  edifice  in 
the  world.  From  the  high  elevation  of  the  Capitol 
dome  there  is  a  splendid  view  to  the  westward  over 
the  city  spread  upon  the  lower  ground  beyond  the 
base  of  Capitol  Hill.  Diagonally  to  the  southwest 
and  northwest  extend  two  grand  avenues  as  far  as 
eye  can  see — Maryland  Avenue  to  the  left  leading 
down  to  the  Potomac,  and  carrying  the  line  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  to  the  river,  where  it  crosses 


THE  CAPITOL.  13 

over  the  Long  Bridge  into  Virginia  j  and  Pennsylva- 
nia Avenue  to  the  right,  stretching  to  the  distant  col- 
onnade of  the  Treasury  Building  and  the  tree-covered 
park  south  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  Between 
these  diverging  avenues  and  extending  to  the  Poto- 
mac, more  than  a  mile  away,  is  the  Mall,  a  broad  en- 
closure of  lawns  and  gardens.  Upon  it  in  the  fore- 
ground is  the  Government  Botanical  Garden,  and 
behind  this  the  spacious  grounds  surrounding  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  ;  while  beyond,  near  the  river 
bank,  rises  the  tall  white  shaft  of  the  Washington 
Monument,  with  its  pointed  apex. 

On  either  side  spreads  out  the  city,  the  houses 
bordering  the  foliage-lined  streets,  and  having  at  fre- 
quent intervals  the  tall  spires  of  churches,  and  the 
massive  marble,  granite  and  brick  edifices  that  are 
used  for  Government  buildings.  In  front,  to  the  west, 
is  the  wide  channel  of  the  Potomac,  and  to  the  south 
and  southeast  the  Anacostia,  their  streams  uniting  at 
Greenleafs  Point,  where  the  Government  Arsenal  is 
located.  On  the  heights  beyond  the  point,  and  across 
the  Anacostia,  is  the  spacious  Government  Insane 
Asylum.  Far  away  on  the  Virginia  shore,  across  the 
Potomac,  rises  a  long  range  of  wooded  hills,  amid 
which  is  Arlington  Heights  and  its  pillared  edifice, 
which  was  the  home  of  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis,  the  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington  and  General 
Washington's  adopted  son,  and  was  subsequently  the 
residence  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  married 


14     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Miss  Custis.  Spreading  broadly  over  the  forest-clad 
hills  is  the  Arlington  National  Cemetery,  where  fif- 
teen thousand  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War  are  buried. 
At  the  distant  horizon  to  the  left  rises  the  spire  of 
Fairfax  Seminary,  and  beyond,  down  the  Potomac,  is 
seen  the  city  of  Alexandria,  the  river  between  being 
dotted  with  vessels.  To  the  northwest,  behind  the 
Executive  Mansion,  is  the  spacious  building  of  the 
State,  War  and  Navy  Departments,  having  for  a 
background  the  picturesque  Georgetown  Heights, 
just  over  the  District  boundary,  their  tops  rising  four 
hundred  feet  above  the  river.  Farther  to  the  north- 
ward is  Seventh  Street  Hill,  crowned  with  the  build- 
ings of  Howard  University,  and  beyond  it  the  distant 
tower  of  the  Soldiers'  Home.  All  around  the  view 
is  magnificent  j  and  years  ago,  before  the  city  ex- 
pected to  attain  anything  like  its  present  grandeur, 
Baron  von  Humboldt,  as  he  stood  upon  the  western 
verge  of  Capitol  Hill  and  surveyed  this  gorgeous  pic- 
ture, exclaimed  :  u  I  have  not  seen  a  more  charming 
panorama  in  all  my  travels." 

After  the  British  burnt  the  original  Capitol,  it  was 
rebuilt  and  finished  in  1827  ;  but  the  unexampled 
growth  of  the  country  and  of  Congress  soon  demanded 
an  extension,  which  was  begun  in  1851.  It  is  this 
extension  which  supplied  the  wings  and  dome,  de- 
signed and  constructed  by  the  late  Thomas  U.  Walter, 
that  has  made  the  building  so  attractive.  This  grand 
Republican  palace  of  government,   stretching  over 


THE  CAPITOL,  15 

seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  along  the  top  of  the  hill, 
has  cost  about  $16,000,000.  The  old  central  build- 
ing is  constructed  of  Virginia  freestone,  painted 
white,  the  massive  wings  are  of  white  marble  from 
Massachusetts,  and  the  lofty  dome  is  of  iron.  The 
dazzling  white  marble  gleams  in  the  sunlight,  and 
fitly  closes  the  view  along  the  great  avenues  radiat- 
ing from  it  as  a  common  centre.  The  architecture  is 
classic,  with  Corinthian  details,  and,  to  add  dignity 
to  the  western  front,  which  overlooks  the  city,  a 
magnificent  marble  terrace,  eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  feet  long,  has  been  constructed  at  its  base  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill,  which  is  approached  by  two  broad 
flights  of  steps. 

The  Capitol  is  surrounded  by  a  park  of  about 
fifty  acres,  including  the  western  declivity  of  the  hill 
and  part  of  the  plateau  on  top.  Upon  this  plateau, 
on  the  eastern  front,  the  populace  assemble  every 
fourth  year  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  the  Presi- 
dent when  he  is  sworn  into  office  by  the  Chief  Justice, 
and  delivers  his  inaugural  address  from  a  broad  plat- 
form at  the  head  of  the  elaborate  staircase  leading  up  to 
the  entrance  to  the  great  central  rotunda.  In  full  view 
of  the  President,  as  he  stands  under  the  grand  Corin- 
thian portico,  is  a  colossal  statue  of  Washington,  seated 
in  his  chair  of  state,  and  facing  the  new  President, 
as  if  in  solemn  warning.  The  rotunda  is  the  most 
striking  feature  of  the  Capitol  interior ;  it  is  nearly 
one  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  and  rises  one  hundred 


16     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  eighty  feet  to  the  ceiling  of  the  dome,  which  is 
ornamented  with  fine  frescoes  by  Brumidi.  Large 
panelled  paintings  on  the  walls  just  above  the  floor, 
and  alti  rilievi  over  them,  represent  events  in  the 
early  history  of  the  country,  while  at  a  height  of  one 
hundred  feet  a  band  nine  feet  wide  runs  around  the 
interior  of  the  dome,  upon  which  a  series  of  frescoes 
tell  the  story  of  American  history  from  the  landing 
of  Columbus.  But,  most  appropriately,  the  elaborate 
decorations,  while  reproducing  so  much  in  Indian 
legend  and  Revolutionary  story,  are  not  used  in  any 
way  to  recall  the  Civil  War.  Away  up  in  the  top  of 
the  dome  there  is  a  Whispering  Gallery,  to  which  a 
stairway  laboriously  leads. 

The  old  halls  of  the  Senate  and  House  in  the  origi- 
nal wings  of  the  Capitol  are  now  devoted,  the  former 
to  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  latter  to  a  gallery  of 
statuary,  to  which  each  State  contributes  two  sub- 
jects, mostly  Revolutionary  or  Colonial  heroes.  Be- 
yond, on  either  hand,  are  the  extensive  new  wings — 
the  Senate  Chamber  to  the  north  and  the  Representa- 
tives' Hall  to  the  south.  Each  is  surrounded  by  cor- 
ridors, beyond  which  are  committee  rooms,  and  there 
are  spacious  galleries  for  the  public.  Each  member 
has  his  chair  and  desk,  the  seats  being  arranged  in 
semicircles  around  the  rostrum.  In  practice,  while 
the  House  is  in  session,  the  members  are  usually 
reading  or  writing,  excepting  the  few  who  may  watch 
what  is  going  on,  because  they  are  specially  inter- 


THE  CAPITOL  17 

ested  in  the  matter  under  consideration ;  and  the 
member  who  may  have  the  floor  and  is  speaking  is 
actually  heard  by  very  few,  his  speech  being  gener- 
ally made  for  the  galleries  and  the  official  stenog- 
raphers and  newspaper  reporters.  Debate  rarely 
reaches  a  point  of  interest  absorbing  the  actual  at- 
tention of  the  whole  House,  most  of  the  speech- 
making  seeming  to  be  delivered  for  effect  in  the 
member's  home  district,  this  method  being  usually 
described  as  "talking  for  Buncombe."  The  other 
members  read  their  newspapers,  write  their  letters, 
clap  their  hands  sharply  to  summon  the  nimble  pages 
who  run  about  the  hall  upon  their  errands,  gossip  in 
groups,  and  otherwise  pass  their  time,  move  in  and 
out  the  cloak-  and  committee-rooms,  and  in  various 
ways  manage  not  to  listen  to  much  that  goes  on. 
Nevertheless,  business  progresses  under  an  iron-clad 
code  of  procedure,  the  Speaker  being  a  despot  who 
largely  controls  legislation.  The  surroundings  of  the 
Senate  Chamber  are  grander  than  those  of  the  House, 
there  being  a  gorgeous  "Marble  Hall,"  in  which 
Senators  give  audience  to  their  visitors,  and  mag- 
nificently ornamented  apartments  for  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President.  The  President's  Room 
is  only  occupied  during  a  few  hours  in  the  closing 
scenes  of  a  session,  this  small  but  splendid  apart- 
ment, which  has  had  $50,000  expended  upon  its 
decoration,  being  a  show  place  for  the  remainder  of 
the  year. 


18     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE  WHITE   HOUSE. 

The  most  famous  building  in  Washington,  though 
one  of  the  least  pretentious,  is  the  Executive  Man- 
sion, popularly  known  as  the  "  White  House,"  being 
constructed,  like  the  older  part  of  the  Capitol,  of 
freestone,  and  painted  white.  It  stands  within  a 
park  at  some  distance  back  from  the  street,  a  semi- 
circular driveway  leading  up  to  the  Ionic  colonnade 
supporting  the  front  central  portico.  It  is  a  plain 
building,  without  pretensions  in  anything  but  its 
august  occupancy,  and  the  ornamental  grounds 
stretch  down  to  the  Potomac  River,  which  flows 
about  two  hundred  yards  below  its  southern  front. 
It  is  two  stories  high,  about  one  hundred  and  seventy 
feet  long,  and  eighty-six  feet  deep.  This  building, 
like  the  Capitol,  was  burnt  in  the  British  invasion  of 
1814  and  afterwards  restored.  Unlike  the  nation,  or 
the  enormous  public  buildings  that  surround  and 
dwarf  it,  the  White  House  has  in  no  sense  grown, 
but  remains  as  it  was  designed  in  the  lifetime  of 
Washington.  It  is  nevertheless  a  comfortable  man- 
sion, though  rigid  in  simplicity.  The  parlor  of  the 
house,  the  u  East  Room,"  is  the  finest  apartment,  oc- 
cupying the  whole  of  that  side,  and  is  kept  open  for 
visitors  during  most  of  the  day.  The  public  wander 
through  it  in  droves,  walk  upon  the  carpets  and  re- 
cline in  the  soft  chairs,  awaiting  the  President's 
coming  to  his  almost  daily  reception  and  handshak- 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE.  19 

ing  j  for  they  greatly  prize  this  joint  occupancy,  as 
it  were,  and  close  communion  with  their  highest 
ruler.  This  is  an  impressive  room,  and  in  earlier 
times  was  the  scene  of  various  inauguration  feasts, 
when  Presidents  kept  open  house  for  their  political 
friends  and  admirers. 

The  "East  Room"  was  a  famous  entertainment 
hall  in  President  Jackson's  time.  On  the  evening  of 
his  inauguration  day  it  was  open  to  all  comers,  who 
were  served  with  orange  punch  and  lemonade.  The 
crowds  were  large,  and  the  punch  was  mixed  in  bar- 
rels, being  brought  in  by  the  bucketful,  the  thirsty 
throngs  rushing  after  the  waiters,  and  in  the  turmoil 
upsetting  the  punch  and  ruining  dresses  and  carpets. 
The  punch  receptacles  were  finally  taken  out  into  the 
gardens,  and  in  this  way  the  boisterous  crowds  were 
drawn  off,  and  it  became  possible  to  serve  cake  and 
wine  to  the  ladies.  Various  traditions  are  still  told 
of  this  experience,  and  also  of  the  monster  cheese,  as 
big  as  a  hogshead,  that  was  served  to  the  multitude 
at  Jackson's  farewell  reception.  It  was  cut  up  with 
long  saw-blades,  and  each  guest  was  given  about  a 
pound  of  cheese,  this  feast  being  the  talk  of  the  time. 
Jackson's  successor  was  Martin  Van  Buren,  who 
came  from  New  York,  the  land  of  big  cheeses. 
Being  bound  to  emulate  his  predecessor,  an  even 
larger  cheese  was  sent  him,  and  cut  up  in  the  "  East 
Room."  The  crowds  trampled  the  greasy  crumbs 
into  the  carpets  and  hangings,  and  all  the  furniture 
Vol.  1—2 


20     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  fittings  were  ruined.  Now  no  guest  comes  un- 
bidden to  dine  at  the  White  House ;  but  the  change 
in  the  fashion  aided  in  defeating  Van  Buren,  who 
was  a  candidate  for  a  second  election  in  1840.  He 
stopped  keeping  open  house  in  order  to  save  the  fur- 
niture and  get  some  peace,  and  during  several  months 
preceding  the  election  many  persons  arrived  at  the 
White  House  for  breakfast  or  dinner  and  threatened 
to  vote  against  Van  Buren  unless  they  were  enter- 
tained. This,  with  the  fact  noised  abroad  that  he  had 
become  such  an  aristocrat  that  his  table  service  in- 
cluded gold  spoons,  then  an  unheard  of  extravagance, 
proved  too  much  for  him.  Van  Buren  was  beaten 
for  re-election  by  "  Old  Tippecanoe  " — General  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison. 

A  corridor  leads  westward  from  the  "  East  Room," 
through  the  centre  of  the  White  House,  to  the  con- 
servatories, which  are  prolonged  nearly  two  hundred 
feet  farther  westward.  A  series  of  fine  apartments, 
called  the  Green,  Blue  and  Red  Rooms,  from  the 
predominant  colors  in  their  decorations,  are  south 
of  this  corridor,  with  their  windows  opening  upon 
the  gardens.  These  apartments  open  into  each 
other,  and  finally  into  the  State  Dining  Hall  on  the 
western  side  of  the  building,  which  is  adjoined  by  a 
conservatory.  North  of  the  corridor  the  first  floor 
contains  the  family  rooms,  and  on  the  second  floor 
are  the  sleeping-rooms  and  also  the  public  offices. 
The  Cabinet  Room,  about  in  the  centre  of  the  build- 


ELABORATE  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS.  21 

ing,  is  a  comparatively  small  apartment,  where  the 
Cabinet  meetings  assemble  around  a  long  table.  On 
one  side  of  it,  at  the  head  of  a  broad  staircase,  are 
the  offices  of  the  secretaries,  over  the  East  Room; 
and  on  the  other  side,  the  President's  private  apart- 
ment, which  is  called  the  Library.  Here  the  Presi- 
dent sits,  with  the  southern  sun  streaming  through 
the  windows,  to  give  audience  to  his  visitors,  who 
are  passed  in  by  the  secretaries.  One  of  the  desks, 
which  is  usually  the  President's  personal  work-table, 
has  a  history.  The  British  ship  "  Resolute/'  years  ago, 
after  many  hardships  in  the  fruitless  search  for  Sir 
John  Franklin,  had  to  be  abandoned  in  the  Arctic 
seas.  Portions  of  her  oaken  timbers  were  taken  back 
to  England,  and  from  these,  by  the  Queen's  command, 
the  desk  was  made  and  presented  to  President  Grant, 
and  it  has  since  been  part  of  the  furniture  in  the 
Library.  An  adjacent  chamber,  wherein  the  Prince 
of  Wales  slept  on  his  only  visit  to  America,  and  the 
chamber  adjoining,  are  the  two  sleeping-rooms  which 
have  been  usually  occupied  by  the  greatest  Presidents. 
The  accommodations  are  so  restricted,  however,  that  a 
movement  is  afoot  for  constructing  another  presiden- 
tial residence,  on  higher  land  in  the  suburbs,  so  that  the 
White  House  may  be  exclusively  used  for  the  execu- 
tive offices. 

ELABOBATE   PUBLIC   BUILDINGS. 

The  great  public  buildings  used  for  Government 
purposes  are  among  the  chief  adornments  of  Wash- 


22     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ington.  To  the  eastward  of  the  White  House  is  the 
Treasury  Building,  extending  over  five  hundred  feet 
along  Fifteenth  Street,  enriched  by  a  magnificent 
Ionic  colonnade,  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long, 
modelled  from  that  of  the  Athenian  Temple  of  Minerva. 
Each  end  has  an  elaborate  Ionic  portico,  while  the 
western  front,  facing  the  White  House,  has  a  grand 
central  entrance.  This  was  the  first  great  building 
constructed  for  a  Government  department,  and  is  the 
headquarters  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Upon 
the  western  side  of  the  White  House  is  the  most 
splendid  of  all  the  department  buildings,  accommo- 
dating three  of  them,  the  State,  War  and  Navy  De- 
partments. It  is  Roman  Doric,  built  of  granite,  four 
stories  high,  with  Mansard  and  pavilion  roofs  and 
porticoes,  covering  a  surface  of  five  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  by  three  hundred  and  forty-two  feet. 
The  Salon  of  the  Ambassadors,  or  the  Diplomatic 
Reception  Room,  is  its  finest  apartment,  and  is  the 
audience  chamber  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  oc- 
cupies the  adjoining  Secretary's  Hall,  also  a  splendid 
room.  This  great  building  is  constructed  around  two 
large  interior  courts,  the  Army  occupying  the  north- 
ern and  western  wings,  and  the  Navy  the  eastern 
side,  where  among  the  great  attractions  are  the 
models  of  the  famous  warships  of  the  American  Navy. 
To  the  northward  of  the  White  House  park  and  fur- 
nishing a  fine  front  view  is  Lafayette  Square,  con- 
taining a  bronze  equestrian  statue  of  General  Jack- 


ELABOKATE  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS.  23 

son  by  Clark  Mills ;  beyond,  on  the  western  side,  is 
the  attractive  Renaissance  building  of  the  Corcoran 
Art  Gallery,  amply  endowed  by  the  late  banker, 
William  W.  Corcoran,  and  containing  his  valuable 
art  collections,  which  were  given  to  the  public.  The 
foundation  of  his  fortune  was  laid  over  a  half-century 
ago,  when  he  had  the  pluck  to  take  a  Government 
loan  which  seemed  slow  of  sale.  His  modest  banking 
house  still  exists  as  the  Riggs  Bank,  facing  the 
Treasury. 

The  most  admired  of  the  newer  public  buildings  in 
Washington  is  the  Congressional  Library,  on  the 
plateau  southeast  of  the  Capitol,  an  enormous  struc- 
ture in  Italian  Renaissance,  a  quadrangle  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy  feet  long  and  three  hundred  and 
forty  feet  wide,  enclosing  four  courts  and  a  central 
rotunda.  It  was  finished  in  1897,  and  cost  about  $6,- 
200,000.  Its  elevated  gilded  dome  and  lantern  are 
conspicuous  objects  in  the  view.  This  great  Library, 
the  largest  in  the  country,  is  appropriately  orna- 
mented, and  its  book-stacks  have  accommodations  for 
about  five  millions  of  volumes,  the  present  number 
approximating  one  million,  with  nearly  three  hun- 
dred thousand  pamphlets.  The  Pension  Building  is 
another  huge  structure,  northwest  of  Capitol  Hill, 
built  around  a  covered  quadrangle,  which  is  used 
quadrennially  for  the  "  Inauguration  Ball,"  a  promi- 
nent Washington  official-social  function,  which  was 
adopted  to  relieve  the  White  House  from  the  former 


24     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

feasting  on  the  inauguration  night.  This  house,  ac- 
commodating the  army  of  pension  clerks,  has  running 
around  the  walls,  over  the  lower  windows,  a  broad 
band,  exhibiting  in  relief  a  marching  column  of 
troops,  with  representations  of  every  branch  of  the 
service.  Seventh  Street,  which  crosses  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  about  midway  between  the  Capitol  and  the 
Treasury,  has  to  the  northward  the  imposing  Corin- 
thian Post-office  Building,  formerly  the  headquarters 
of  the  postal  service.  Behind  this  is  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  popularly  known  as  the  Patent  Office, 
as  a  large  part  of  it  is  occupied  by  patent  models. 
This  is  a  grand  Doric  structure,  occupying  two  blocks 
and  embracing  about  three  acres  of  buildings,  the 
main  entrance  being  a  magnificent  portico,  seen  from 
Pennsylvania  Avenue.  The  new  General  Post-office 
Department  Building  is  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
covering  a  surface  of  three  hundred  by  two  hundred 
feet,  and  having  a  tower  rising  three  hundred  feet. 
It  has  just  been  completed.  The  Government  Print- 
ing Office,  where  the  public  printing  is  done,  and 
the  Treasury  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing, 
where  all  the  Government  money  issues  and  revenue 
stamps  are  made,  are  large  and  important  buildings, 
though  not  specifically  attractive  in  architecture. 

THE   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

Upon  the  Mall  stands  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
of  world-wide  renown,  one  of  the  most  interesting 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION.  25 

public  structures  in  Washington,  its  turrets  and 
towers  rising  above  the  trees.  The  origin  of  this 
famous  scientific  establishment  was  the  bequest  of  an 
Englishman,  James  Smithson,  a  natural  son  of,  Hugh 
Smithson,  Duke  of  Northumberland,  born  in  1765. 
He  was  known  as  Louis  Macie  at  Oxford,  graduating 
under  that  name;  early  developed  scientific  tastes; 
was  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  the  friend  and 
associate  of  many  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his 
time,  and  lived  usually  in  Paris,  where  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century  he  took  the  family  name  of 
his  father.  He  died  in  Italy  in  1829.  In  Washing- 
ton's Farewell  Address,  issued  in  1796,  there  occurs 
the  phrase,  "  An  institution  for  the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge,"  and  it  was  well  known  that  the 
Father  of  his  Country  cherished  a  project  for  a 
national  institution  of  learning  in  the  new  Federal 
City.  This  was  evidently  communicated  to  Smith- 
son  by  one  of  his  intimates  in  Paris,  Joel  Barlow,  a 
noted  American,  who  was  familiar  with  Washing- 
ton's plan,  and  in  this  way  originated  the  residuary 
bequest,  which  was  contained  in  the  following  clause 
of  Smithson's  will:  "I  bequeath  the  whole  of  my 
property  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  found 
at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  among  men."  Upon  the  death 
of  Smithson's  nephew,  without  heirs,  in  1835,  this 
bequest   became   operative,  and  the   United  States 


26     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Legation  in  London  was  notified  that  the  estate,  then 
amounting  in  value  to  about  £100,000,  was  held  in 
possession  of  the  Accountant-General  of  the  Court 
of  Chancery.  This  was  something  novel  in  America, 
and  when  the  facts  became  public  opposition  arose  in 
Congress  to  accepting  the  gift,  eminent  men,  headed 
by  John  C.  Calhoun,  arguing  that  it  was  beneath  the 
dignity  of  the  United  States  to  receive  presents. 
Others,  however,  led  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  ar- 
dently advocated  acceptance.  The  latter  carried  the 
day ;  Richard  Rush  was  sent  to  London,  as  agent,  to 
prosecute  the  claim  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  in  the 
name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  5  and  the 
legacy  was  obtained  and  delivered  at  the  Mint  in 
Philadelphia,  September  1,  1838,  in  the  sum  of  104,- 
960  British  sovereigns,  and  was  immediately  recoined 
into  United  States  money,  producing  $508,318.46, 
the  first  installment  of  the  legacy.  There  were  sub- 
sequent additional  installments,  and  the  total  sum  in 
1867  reached  $650,000.  This  original  sum  was  de- 
posited in  the  Federal  Treasury  in  perpetuity,  at  six 
per  cent,  interest,  and  the  income  has  been  devoted 
to  the  erection  of  the  buildings,  and,  with  other  sub- 
sequently added  sums,  to  the  support  of  the  vast  es- 
tablishment which  has  grown  from  the  original  gift. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  was  formally  created 
by  Act  of  Congress,  August  10,  1846,  the  corpora- 
tion being  composed  of  the  President,  Vice-President, 
members  of  the  Cabinet  and  Chief  Justice,  who  are 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION.  27 

constituted  the  "  establishment,"  made  responsible 
for  the  duty  of  "  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men."  The  Institution  is  administered 
by  a  Board  of  Regents,  including  in  addition  three 
Senators,  three  members  of  the  House,  and  six  citi- 
zens appointed  by  Congress ;  the  presiding  officer, 
called  the  "  Chancellor,"  being  usually  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice, and  the  secretary  of  the  board  is  the  Executive 
Officer.  The  late  eminent  Professor  Joseph  Henry 
was  elected  secretary  in  1846,  and  he  designed  the 
plan  and  scope  of  the  Institution,  continuing  as  its 
executive  head  until  his  death  in  1878.  His  statue 
stands  in  the  grounds  near  the  entrance.  Two  other 
secretaries  followed  him,  Spencer  F.  Baird  (who  was 
twenty-seven  years  assistant  secretary),  and  upon  his 
death  Samuel  P.  Langley,  in  1888.  The  ornate 
building  of  red  Seneca  brownstone,  a  fine  castellated 
structure  in  the  Renaissance  style,  was  designed  in 
1847  and  finished  in  1855.  Its  grand  front  stretches 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  its  nine  towers 
and  turrets,  rising  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  stand  up  prettily  behind  the  groves  of 
trees.  This  original  building  contains  a  museum  of 
natural  history  and  anthropology.  In  connection  with 
it  there  is  another  elaborate  structure  over  three 
hundred  feet  square — the  National  Museum — con- 
taining numerous  courts,  surrounding  a  central  ro- 
tunda, beneath  which  a  fountain  plashes.  This  is 
under  the  same  management,  and  directly  supported 


28     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

by  the  Government,  the  design  being  to  perfect  a  col- 
lection much  like  the  British  Museum,  but  paying 
more  attention  to  American  antiquities  and  products. 
This  adjunct  museum  began  with  the  gifts  by  foreign 
Governments  to  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Expo- 
sition in  1876,  most  of  them  being  still  preserved 
there.  The  Smithsonian  Trust  Fund  now  approxi- 
mates $1,000,000,  and  there  are  various  other  gifts 
and  bequests  held  in  the  Treasury  for  various  scien- 
tific  purposes  similarly  administered. 

Briefly  stated,  the  plan  of  Professor  Henry  was  to 
u  increase  knowledge  n  by  original  investigations  and 
study,  either  in  science  or  literature,  and  to  "  diffuse 
knowledge  M  not  only  through  the  United  States,  but 
everywhere,  and  especially  by  promoting  an  inter- 
change of  thought  among  the  learned  in  all  nations, 
with  no  restriction  in  favor  of  any  one  branch  of 
knowledge.  A  leading  feature  of  his  plan  was  "  to 
assist  men  of  science  in  making  original  researches, 
to  publish  them  in  a  series  of  volumes,  and  to  give  a 
copy  of  them  to  every  first-class  library  on  the  face 
of  the  earth."  There  is  said  to  be  probably  not  a 
scientific  observer  of  any  standing  in  the  United 
States  to  whom  the  Institution  has  not  at  some  time 
extended  a  helping  hand,  and  this  aid  also  goes  liber- 
ally across  the  Atlantic.  As  income  grew,  the  scope 
has  been  enlarged.  In  the  various  museums  there  is 
a  particularly  good  collection  of  American  ethnology, 
and  a  most  elaborate   display  of  American  fossils, 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION.  29 

minerals,  animals,  birds  and  antiquities.  There  are 
also  shown  by  the  Fish  Commission  specimens  of  the 
fishing  implements  and  fishery  methods  of  all  nations, 
an  exhibition  which  is  unexcelled  in  these  special  de- 
partments. Many  specifically  interesting  things  are 
in  the  National  Museum.  The  personal  effects  of 
Washington,  Jackson  and  General  Grant  are  there. 
Benjamin  Franklin's  old  printing-press  is  preserved 
in  a  somewhat  dilapidated  condition,  and  there  is  also 
the  first  railway  engine  sent  from  England  to  the 
United  States,  the  original  "John  Bull,''  built  by 
Stephenson  &  Son  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne  in  June, 
1831,  and  sent  out  as  "  Engine  No.  1 n  for  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  crossing  New  Jersey, 
now  a  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  It  weighs 
ten  tons,  and  has  four  driving-wheels  of  fifty-four 
inches  diameter.  This  relic,  after  being  used  on  the 
railroad  for  forty  years,  until  improved  machinery 
superseded  it,  has  been  given  the  Government  as  a 
national  heirloom.  Among  the  anthropological  col- 
lections is  a  chronologically  arranged  series  illus- 
trating American  history  from  the  period  of  the 
discovery  to  the  present  day.  This  includes  George 
Catlin's  famous  collection  of  six  hundred  paintings, 
illustrating  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  North 
American  Indians.  One  of  the  most  important  fea- 
tures of  the  work  of  this  most  interesting  establish- 
ment is  its  active  participation  in  all  the  great 
International   Expositions  by  the  loan  to    them  of 


30     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

valuable  exhibits  under   Government  direction  and 
control. 

THE   SOLDIERS*   HOME   AND   WASHINGTON   MONUMENT. 

The  city  of  Washington,  with  progressing  years, 
is  becoming  more  and  more  the  popular  residential 
city  of  the  country.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  attractive,  the  admirable  plan,  with  the  wide 
asphalted  streets,  lined  with  trees,  opening  up  vista 
views  of  grand  public  buildings,  statues,  monuments 
or  leafy  parks,  making  it  specially  popular.  The 
northern  and  northwestern  sections,  on  the  higher 
grounds,  have  consequently  spread  far  beyond  the 
Executive  Mansion,  being  filled  with  rows  of  elabo- 
rate and  costly  residences,  the  homes  of  leading  pub- 
lic men.  The  streets  are  kept  scrupulously  clean, 
while  at  the  intersections  are  *  circles,"  triangles  and 
little  squares,  which  are  availed  of  for  pretty  parks, 
and  usually  contain  statues  of  distinguished  Ameri- 
cans. Among  the  noted  residence  streets  are  Ver- 
mont, Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  Avenues  and  K 
Street  and  Sixteenth  Street,  all  in  the  northwestern 
district.  Among  the  many  statues  adorning  the  small 
parks  and  "  circles  "  are  those  of  Washington,  Far- 
ragut,  Scott,  Thomas,  McPherson,  Dupont,  Logan, 
Franklin,  Hancock,  Grant,  Rawlins  and  Martin  Lu- 
ther, the  latter  a  replica  of  the  figure  in  the  Refor- 
mation Monument  at  Worms. 

To  the  northward  the  suburbs  rise  to  Columbia 


SOLDIEES'  HOME-WASHINGTON  MONUMENT.      31 

Heights,  with  an  elevated  plateau  beyond,  where 
there  is  a  Government  park  covering  nearly  a  square 
mile  of  rolling  surface,  and  surrounding  one  of  the 
noted  rural  retreats  on  the  borders  of  the  Capital,  the 
u  Soldiers'  Home."  This  is  an  asylum  and  hospital 
for  disabled  and  superannuated  soldiers  of  the  Ameri- 
can regular  army,  containing  usually  about  six  hun- 
dred of  them,  and  founded  by  General  Winfield 
Scott,  whose  statue  adorns  the  grounds.  Its  cottages 
have  been  favorite  retiring-places  of  the  Presidents 
in  the  warm  weather.  Amid  lovely  surroundings  the 
veterans  are  comfortably  housed,  and  in  the  adjacent 
cemetery  thousands  of  them  have  been  buried. 
Scott's  statue  stands  upon  the  southern  brow  of  the 
plateau,  where  a  ridge  is  thrust  out  in  a  commanding 
situation ;  and  from  here  the  old  commander  of  the 
army  forty  and  fifty  years  ago  gazes  intently  over 
the  lower  ground  to  the  city  three  miles  away,  with 
the  lofty  Capitol  dome  and  Washington  Monument 
rising  to  his  level,  while  beyond  them  the  broad  and 
placid  Potomac  winds  between  its  wooded  shores. 
This  is  the  most  elevated  spot  near  Washington, 
overlooking  a  wide  landscape.  In  the  cemetery  at 
the  Soldiers'  Home  sleeps  General  Logan,  among  the 
thousands  of  other  veterans.  To  the  westward  the 
beautiful  gorge  of  Rock  Creek  is  cut  down,  and  be- 
yond is  Georgetown,  with  its  noted  University, 
founded  by  the  Jesuits  in  1789,  and  having  about 
seven  hundred  students.     In  the  Oak  Hill  Cemetery, 


32     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIFIIVE. 

at  Georgetown,  is  the  grave  of  John  Howard  Payne, 
the  author  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  who  died  in 
1852.  Far  away  over  the  Potomac,  in  the  Arling- 
ton National  Cemetery,  are  the  graves  of  Generals 
Sherman  and  Sheridan. 

Down  near  the  Potomac,  on  the  Mall,  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  Smithsonian  turrets,  is  the  extensive 
brick  and  brownstone  building  representing  the  dom- 
inant industry  of  the  United  States,  which  gives  the 
politicians  so  much  anxiety  in  catering  for  votes — ■ 
the  Agricultural  Department.  Here  are  spacious 
gardens  and  greenhouses,  an  arboretum  and  herba- 
rium, the  adjacent  buildings  also  containing  an  agri- 
cultural museum.  As  over  three-fifths  of  the  men  in 
the  United  States  are  farmers  and  farm-workers,  and 
many  others  are  in  the  adjunct  industries,  it  has  be- 
come a  popular  saying  in  Washington  that  if  you 
wish  to  scare  Congress  you  need  only  shake  a  cow's 
tail  at  it.  This  department  has  grown  into  an 
enormous  distributing  office  for  seeds  and  cuttings, 
crop  reports  and  farming  information.  Among  its 
curiosities  is  the  "  Sequoia  Tree  Tower,"  formed  of 
a  section  of  a  Sequoia  or  Big  Tree  of  California, 
which  was  three  hundred  feet  high  and  twenty-six 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  base. 

Behind  the  Agricultural  Department,  and  rising 
almost  at  the  river  bank,  and  in  front  of  the  Execu- 
tive Mansion,  is  the  noted  Washington  Monument, 
its  pointed  apex  elevated  five  hundred  and  fifty-five 


SOLDIERS'  HOME-WASHINGTON  MONUMENT.      33 

feet.  This  is  a  square  and  gradually  tapering  shaft, 
constructed  of  white  Maryland  marble,  the  walls 
fifteen  feet  thick  at  the  base  and  eighteen  inches  at 
the  top,  the  pyramidal  apex  being  fifty -five  feet  high 
and  capped  with  a  piece  of  aluminum.  Its  construc- 
tion was  begun  in  1848,  abandoned  in  1855,  resumed 
in  1877  and  finished  in  1884,  at  a  total  cost  of  $1,- 
300,000.  The  lower  walls  contain  stones  contributed 
by  public  corporations  and  organizations,  many  being 
sent  by  States  and  foreign  nations,  and  bearing  suit- 
able inscriptions  in  memory  of  Washington.  A 
fatiguing  stairway  of  nine  hundred  steps  leads  to  the 
top,  and  there  is  also  a  slow-moving  elevator.  From 
the  little  square  windows,  just  below  the  apex,  there 
is  a  grand  view  over  the  surrounding  country.  Afar 
off  to  the  northwest  is  seen  the  long  hazy  wall  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  or  Kittatinny  Mountain  range,  its 
prominent  peak,  the  Sugar  Loaf,  being  fifty  miles 
distant.  To  the  eastward  is  the  Capitol  and  its  sur- 
mounting dome,  over  a  mile  away,  while  the  city 
spreads  all  around  the  view  below,  like  a  toy  town, 
its  streets  crossing  as  on  a  chess-board,  and  cut  into 
gores  and  triangles  by  the  broad,  diagonal  avenues 
lined  with  trees,  the  houses  being  interspersed  with 
many  foliage-covered  spaces.  Coming  from  the 
northwest  the  Potomac  passes  nearly  at  the  foot  of 
the  monument,  with  Arlington  Heights  over  on  the 
distant  Virginia  shore,  and  the  broad  river  channel 
flowing  away  to  the  southwest  until  lost  among  the 


34     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

winding  forest-clad  shores  below  Alexandria.  From 
this  elevated  perch  can  be  got  an  excellent  idea  of 
the  peculiarities  of  the  town,  its  vast  plan  and  long 
intervals  of  space,  so  that  there  is  quite  plainly  shown 
why  the  practical  Yankee  race  calls  it  the  "  City  of 
Magnificent  Distances."  Possibly  one  of  the  best 
descriptions  of  Washington  and  its  characteristics  is 
that  of  the  poet  in  the  Washington  Post  : 

A  city  well  named  of  magnificent  distances  ; 

Of  boulevards,  palaces,  fountains  and  trees  ; 
Of  sunshine  and  moonlight  whose  subtle  insistence  is — 

"  Bask  in  our  radiance  !  Be  lulled  by  our  breeze  !" 
A  city  like  Athens  set  down  in  Arcadia  ; 

White  temples  and  porticoes  gleaming  'mid  groves  ; 
"Where  nymphs  glide  and  smile  as  though  quite  unafraid  o^ 
you, 

The  home  of  the  Muses,  the  Graces,  the  Loves  ; 
The  centre  of  Politics,  Letters  and  Sciences  ; 

Elysium  of  Arts,  yet  the  Lobbyist's  Dream  ; 
Where  gather  the  clans  whose  only  reliance  is 

Gold  and  the  dross  that  sweeps  down  with  its  stream ; 
An  isle  of  the  lotus,  where  every-day  business 

Sails  on  its  course  all  unvexed  by  simoons  ; 
No  bustle  or  roar,  no  mad-whirling  dizziness 

O'er  velvety  streets  like  Venetian  lagoons  ; 
A  town  where  from  nothing  whatever  they  bar  women, 

From  riding  a  bicycle — tending  a  bar ; 
Ex-cooks  queen  society — -ladies  are  charwomen — 

For  such  the  plain  facts  as  too  often  they  are. 
A  city  where  applicants,  moody,  disconsolate, 

Swoop  eager  for  office  and  senseless  to  shame  ; 
The  "heeler"  quite  certain  of  getting  his  consulate, 

Although,  to  be  sure,  he  can't  sign  his  name  ; 
A  town  where  all  types  of  humanity  congregate  ; 

The  millionaire  lolling  on  cushions  of  ease  ; 


THE  POTOMAC  AND  THE  ALLEGHENIES.       35 

The  tramp  loping  by  at  a  wolfish  and  hungry  gait ; 

And  mankind  in  general  a'  go  as  you  please. 
A  city  in  short  of  most  strange  inconsistencies  j 

Condensing  the  history  of  man  since  the  fall; 
A  city,  however,  whose  piece  de  resistance  is 

This — 'tis  the  best  and  the  fairest  of  all. 

THE  POTOMAC  AND  THE  ALLEGHENIES. 

The  Potomac  is  one  of  the  chief  among  the  many 
rivers  draining  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  It  origi- 
nates in  two  branches,  rising  in  West  Virginia  and 
uniting  northwest  of  Cumberland;  is  nearly  four 
hundred  miles  long;  has  remarkably  picturesque 
scenery  in  the  magnificent  gorges  and  reaches  of  its 
upper  waters ;  breaks  through  range  after  range  of 
the  Alleghenies,  and  after  reaching  the  lowlands  be- 
comes a  tidal  estuary  for  a  hundred  miles  of  its  final 
course,  broadening  to  six  and  eight  and  ultimately 
sixteen  miles  wide  at  its  mouth  in  the  Chesapeake. 
Washington  is  near  the  head  of  tidewater,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  miles  from  the  bay ;  and  for 
almost  its  entire  course  the  Potomac  is  an  interstate 
boundary,  between  Maryland  and  West  Virginia  and 
Virginia.  Its  name  is  Indian,  referring  to  its  use  in 
their  primitive  navigation,  the  original  word  M  Peto- 
mok  v  meaning  u  they  are  coming  by  water  " — "  they 
draw  near  in  canoes."  The  Alleghenies,  where  this 
noted  river  originates,  are  a  remarkable  geological 
formation.  The  Atlantic  Coast  of  the  United  States 
has  a  general  trend  from  the  northeast  to  the  south- 


36      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

west,  with  bordering  sand  beaches,  and  back  of  them 
a  broad  band  of  pines.  Then,  towards  the  north- 
west, the  land  gradually  rises,  being  formed  in  suc- 
cessive ridges,  with  intervening  valleys,  until  it 
reaches  the  Alleghenies.  The  great  ranges  of  this 
mountain  chain,  which  is  geologically  known  as  the 
Appalachian  System,  run  almost  parallel  to  the  coast 
for  over  a  thousand  miles,  from  the  White  Mountains 
of  New  Hampshire  down  to  Alabama.  They  are 
noted  mountains,  not  very  high,  but  of  remarkable 
construction,  and  are  said  to  be  much  older  in  geo- 
logical formation  than  the  Alps  or  the  Andes.  They 
are  composed  of  series  of  parallel  ridges,  one  beyond 
the  other,  and  all  following  the  same  general  course, 
like  the  successive  waves  of  the  ocean.  For  long 
distances  these  ridges  run  in  perfectly  straight  lines, 
and  then,  as  one  may  curve  around  into  a  new  direc- 
tion, all  the  others  curve  with  it.  The  intervening 
valleys  are  as  remarkable  in  their  parallelism  as  the 
ridges  enclosing  them.  From  the  seaboard  to  the 
mountains  the  ranges  of  hills  are  of  the  same  general 
character,  but  with  less  elevation,  gentler  slopes,  and 
in  most  cases  narrower  and  much  more  fertile  val- 
leys. 

The  South  Mountain,  an  irregular  and  in  some 
parts  broken-down  ridge,  is  the  outpost  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies, while  the  great  Blue  Ridge  is  their  eastern 
buttress.  The  latter  is  about  twenty  miles  north- 
west of  the  South  Mountain,  and  is  the  famous  Kit- 


THE  POTOMAC  AND  THE  ALLEGHENIES.   37 

tatinny  range,  named  by  the  Indians,  and  in  their 
figurative  language  meaning  "the  endless  chain  of 
hills."  It  stretches  from  the  Catskills  in  New  York 
southwest  to  Alabama,  a  distance  of  eight  hundred 
miles,  a  veritable  backbone  for  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
its  rounded  ridgy  peaks  rising  sometimes  twenty-five 
hundred  feet  north  of  the  Carolinas,  and  much  higher 
in  those  States.  It  stands  up  like  a  great  blue  wall 
against  the  northwestern  horizon,  deeply  notched 
where  the  rivers  flow  out,  and  is  the  eastern  border 
for  the  mountain  chain  of  numerous  parallel  ridges 
of  varying  heights  and  characteristics  that  stretch 
in  rows  behind  it,  covering  a  width  of  a  hundred 
miles  or  more.  Within  this  chain  is  the  vast  store 
of  minerals  that  has  done  so  much  to  create  Ameri- 
can wealth — the  coal  and  iron,  the  ores  .and  metals, 
that  are  in  exhaustless  supply,  and  upon  the  surface 
grew  the  forests  of  timber  that  were  used  in  building 
the  seaboard  cities,  but  are  now  nearly  all  cut  off. 
The  great  Atlantic  Coast  rivers  rise  among  these 
mountain  ridges,  break  through  the  Kittatinny  and 
flow  down  to  the  ocean,  while  the  streams  on  their 
western  slopes  drain  into  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
The  Hudson  breaks  through  the  Kittatinny  outcrop 
at  the  West  Point  Highlands,  the  Delaware  forces  a 
passage  at  the  Water  Gap,  the  Lehigh  at  the  Lehigh 
Gap,  below  Mauch  Chunk;  the  Schuylkill  at  Port 
Clinton,  the  Susquehanna  at  Dauphin,  above  Harris- 
burg,  and  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry.    All  these 


88     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

rivers  either  rise  among  or  force  their  winding  pas- 
sages through  the  various  ranges  behind  the  great 
Blue  Ridge,  and  also  through  the  South  Mountain 
and  the  successive  parallel  ranges  of  lower  hills  that 
are  met  on  their  way  to  the  coast,  so  that  all  in  their 
courses  display  most  picturesque  valleys. 

HARPER'S  FERRY  AND  JOHN  BROWN. 

The  Potomac,  having  flowed  more  than  two  hun- 
dred miles  through  beautiful  gorges  and  the  finest 
scenery  of  these  mountains,  finally  breaks  out  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  receiving  here  its  chief  tributary, 
the  Shenandoah,  coming  up  from  Virginia,  the  Poto- 
mac River  passage  of  the  Blue  Ridge  being  described 
by  Thomas  Jefferson  as  u  one  of  the  most  stupendous 
scenes  in  nature."  The  Shenandoah — its  name  mean- 
ing u  the  stream  passing  among  the  spruce-pines  " — 
flows  through  the  fertile  and  famous  "  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia," noted  for  its  many  battles  and  active  move- 
ments of  troops  during  the  Civil  War,  when  the  rival 
forces,  as  fortunes  changed,  chased  each  other  up  and 
down  the  Valley  ;  and  Harper's  Ferry,  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  rivers,  and  the  towering  Maryland 
Heights  on  the  northern  side  and  the  Loudon 
Heights  on  the  Virginia  side,  the  great  buttresses 
of  the  river  passage,  being  generally  held  as  a 
northern  border  fortress.  These  huge  mountain 
walls  rise  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  town,  which 
has  a  population  of  about  two  thousand. 


HARPER'S  FERRY  AND  JOHN  BROWN.  39 

Harper's  Ferry  was  also  the  scene  of  "  John 
Brown's  raid,"  which  was  practically  the  opening  act 
of  the  Civil  War,  although  actual  hostilities  did  not 
begin  until  more  than  a  year  afterwards.  "  Old  John 
Brown  of  Osawatomie "  was  a  tanner,  an  unsettled 
and  adventurous  spirit  and  foe  of  slavery,  born  in 
Connecticut  in  1800,  but  who,  at  the  same  time,  was 
one  of  the  most  upright  and  zealous  men  that  ever 
lived.  In  his  wanderings  he  migrated  to  Kansas  in 
1855,  where  he  lived  at  Osawatomie,  and  fought 
against  the  pro-slavery  party.  His  house  was  burnt 
and  his  son  killed  in  the  Kansas  border  wars,  and  he 
made  bloody  reprisals.  Smarting  under  his  wrongs, 
he  became  the  master-spirit  of  a  convention  which 
met  at  Chatham,  Canada,  in  May,  1859,  and  organ- 
ized an  invasion  of  Virginia  to  liberate  the  slaves. 
Having  formed  his  plans,  he  rented  a  farmhouse  in 
July  about  six  miles  from  Harper's  Ferry,  and  gath- 
ered his  forces  together.  On  the  night  of  October 
16th,  with  twenty-two  associates,  six  being  negroes, 
he  crossed  the  bridge  into  Harper's  Ferry,  and  cap- 
tured the  arsenal  and  armory  of  the  Virginia  militia, 
intending  to  liberate  the  slaves  and  occupy  the 
heights  of  the  Blue  Ridge  as  a  base  of  operations 
against  their  owners.  A  detachment  of  United  States 
marines  were  next  day  sent  to  the  aid  of  the  militia, 
and,  after  two  days'  desultory  hostilities,  some  of  his 
party  were  killed,  and  Brown  and  the  survivors  were 
captured  and  given  up  to  the  Virginia  authorities  for 


40     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

trial.  His  final  stand  was  made  in  a  small  engine- 
house,  known  as  H  John  Brown's  Fort,"  which  was 
exhibited  at  the  Chicago  Exposition  in  1893.  Brown 
and  six  of  his  associates  were  hanged  at  the  county- 
seat,  Charlestown,  seven  miles  southwest  of  Harper's 
Ferry,  on  December  2d,  Brown  facing  death  with  the 
greatest  serenity.  His  raid  failed,  but  it  was  poten- 
tial in  disclosing  the  bitter  feeling  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  it  furnished  the  theme  for  the 
most  popular  and  inspiring  song  of  the  Civil  War : 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave. 
But  his  soul  goes  marching  on." 

THE  GREAT  FALLS  AND  ALEXANDRIA. 

The  Potomac  continues  its  picturesque  course 
below  Harper's  Ferry,  and  passes  the  Point  of  Rocks, 
a  promontory  of  the  Catoctin  Mountain,  a  prolonga- 
tion of  the  Blue  Ridge.  There  were  battles  fought 
all  about,  the  most  noted  being  at  South  Mountain  and 
Antietam,  to  the  northward,  in  September,  1862; 
while  it  was  at  Frederick,  fifteen  miles  away,  during 
this  campaign,  that  Barbara  Frietchie  was  said  to 
have  waved  the  flag  as  Stonewall  Jackson  marched 
through  the  town,  immortalized  in  Whittier's  poem. 
Here  is  buried  Francis  Scott  Key,  author  of  the 
"  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  who  died  in  1843,  and  a 
handsome  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory  in 
1898.  The  Potomac  reaches  its  Great  Falls  about 
fifteen  miles  above  Washington,  where  it  descends 


THE  GBEAT  FALLS  AND  ALEXANDRIA.    41 

eighty  feet  in  about  two  miles,  including  a  fine  cata- 
ract thirty-five  feet  high.  Below  this  is  the  "  Cabin 
John  Bridge/'  with  one  of  the  largest  stone  arches  in 
the  world,  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  span, 
built  for  the  Washington  Aqueduct,  carrying  the  city 
water  supply  from  the  Great  Falls.  On  Wesley 
Heights,  to  the  northward,  the  new  American  Uni- 
versity of  the  Methodist  Church  is  being  constructed. 
Below  Washington,  the  river  passes  the  ancient 
city  of  Alexandria,  a  quaint  old  Virginian  town, 
which  was  formerly  of  considerable  commercial  im- 
portance, but  is  now  quiet  and  restful,  and  cherishing 
chiefly  the  memory  of  George  Washington,  who  lived 
at  Mount  Vernon,  a  few  miles  below,  and  was  its 
almost  daily  visitor  to  transact  his  business  and  go  to 
church  and  entertainments.  The  tradition  is  that 
Madison,  who  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Con- 
gress, selected  Alexandria  for  the  "Federal  City," 
intending  to  erect  the  Capitol  on  Shooters7  Hill,  a 
mile  out  of  town,  as  grand  an  elevation  as  the  hill  in 
Washington ;  but  he  was  overruled  by  the  President 
because  the  latter  hesitated  to  thus  favor  his  native 
State.  Had  Madison  had  his  way,  the  town  probably 
would  not  now  be  so  sleepy.  The  modest  little  steeple 
of  Christ  Church,  where  Washington  was  a  vestry- 
man, rises  back  of  the  town,  and  his  pew,  No.  5, 
is  still  shown,  for  which,  when  the  church  was  built 
and  consecrated  in  1773,  the  records  show  that  he 
paid  thirty-six  pounds,  ten  shillings.     To  construct 


42     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

this  church  and  another  at  the  Falls,  the  vestry  of 
Fairfax  parish,  in  1766,  levied  an  assessment  of 
31,185  pounds  of  tobacco,  and  the  rector's  salary  was 
also  paid  in  tobacco.  After  the  Revolution,  to  help 
support  the  church,  Washington  and  seven  others 
signed  an  agreement  in  the  vestry-book  to  each  pay 
&ve  pounds  annual  rental  for  the  pews  they  owned. 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  baptized  and  confirmed  and  at- 
tended Sunday-school  in  this  old  church,  and  tablets 
in  memory  of  Washington  and  Lee  were  inserted  in 
the  church  wall  in  1870.  At  the  Carey  House,  near 
the  river,  Washington,  in  1755,  received  from  Gen- 
eral Braddock,  who  had  come  up  there  from  Hamp- 
ton Roads,  his  first  commission  as  an  aide  to  that 
commander,  with  the  rank  of  Major,  just  before  start- 
ing on  the  ill-starred  expedition  into  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. Alexandria  has  probably  fifteen  thousand 
people,  and  on  the  outskirts  is  another  mournful  relic 
of  the  Civil  War,  a  Soldiers'  Cemetery,  with  four 
thousand  graves.  Below  Alexandria,  the  Hunting 
Creek  flows  into  the  Potomac,  this  stream  having 
given  Washington's  home  its  original  name  of  the 
"Hunting  Creek  Estate." 


Mount  Vernon,  the  home  and  burial-place  of  George 
Washington,  is  seventeen  miles  below  the  city  of 
Washington,  the  mansion-house,  being  in  full  view, 
standing  among  the  trees  on  the  top  of  a  bluff,  rising 


WASHINGTON'S  HOME  AND  TOMB.  43 

about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  river.  As  the 
steamboat  approaches,  its  bell  is  tolled,  this  being  the 
universal  custom  on  n earing  or  passing  Washington's 
tomb.  It  originated  in  the  reverence  of  a  British 
officer,  Commodore  Gordon,  who,  during  the  invasion 
of  the  Capital  in  August,  1814,  sailed  past  Mount 
Vernon,  and  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the  dead  had 
the  bell  of  his  ship,  the  "  Sea  Horse,"  tolled.  The 
"Hunting  Creek  Estate"  was  originally  a  domain 
of  about  eight  thousand  acres ;  and  Augustine  Wash- 
ington, dying  in  1743,  bequeathed  it  to  Lawrence 
Washington,  who,  having  served  in  the  Spanish 
wars  under  Admiral  Vernon,  named  it  Mount  Vernon 
in  his  honor.  George  Washington  was  born  in  1732, 
in  Westmoreland  County,  farther  down  the  Potomac, 
and  when  a  boy  lived  near  Fredericksburg,  on  the 
Rappahannock  Eiver.  In  1752  he  inherited  Mount 
Vernon  from  Lawrence,  and  after  his  death  the  estate 
passed  to  his  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,  subse- 
quently descending  to  other  members  of  the  family. 
Congress  repeatedly  endeavored  to  have  Washing- 
ton's remains  removed  to  the  crypt  under  the  rotunda 
of  the  Capitol  originally  constructed  for  their  recep- 
tion, but  the  family  always  refused,  knowing  it  was 
his  desire  to  rest  at  Mount  Vernon.  The  grounds 
and  buildings  being  in  danger  of  falling  into  dilapi- 
dation, and  the  estate  passing  under  control  of 
strangers,  a  patriotic  movement  began  throughout 
the  country  for  the  purchase  of  the  portion  contain- 
Vol.  1-3 


44     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ing  the  tomb  and  mansion.  The  Virginia  Legisla- 
ture, in  1856,  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  sale,  and 
under  the  auspices  of  a  number  of  energetic  ladies 
who  formed  the  <e  Mount  Vernon  Association,"  assisted 
by  the  oratory  of  Edward  Everett,  who  traversed 
the  country  making  a  special  plea  for  help,  a  tract  of 
two  hundred  acres  was  bought  for  $200,000,  being 
enlarged  by  subsequent  gifts  to  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  acres.  These  ladies  and  their  successors 
have  since  taken  charge,  restoring  and  beautifying 
the  estate,  which  is  faithfully  preserved  as  a  patri- 
otic heritage  and  place  of  pilgrimage  for  visitors  from 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  steamboat  lands  at  Washington's  wharf  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff,  where  he  formerly  loaded  his  barges 
with  flour  ground  at  his  own  mill,  shipping  most  of  it 
from  Alexandria  to  the  West  Indies.  The  road  from 
the  wharf  leads  up  a  ravine  cut  diagonally  in  the  face 
of  the  bluff,  directly  to  Washington's  tomb,  and  along- 
side the  ravine  are  several  weeping  willows  that  were 
brought  from  Napoleon's  grave  at  St.  Helena.  Wash- 
ington's will  directed  that  his  tomb  "  shall  be  built  of 
brick,"  and  it  is  a  plain  square  brick  structure,  with 
a  wide  arched  gateway  in  front  and  double  iron  gates. 
Above  is  the  inscription  on  a  marble  slab,  "  Within 
this  enclosure  rests  the  remains  of  General  George 
Washington."  The  vault  is  about  twelve  feet  square, 
the  interior  being  plainly  seen  through  the  gates.  It 
has  upon  the  floor  two  large  stone  coffins,  that  on  the 


WASHINGTON'S  HOME  AND  TOMB.  45 

right  hand  containing  Washington,  and  that  on  the 
left  his  widow  Martha,  who  survived  him  over  a 
year.  In  a  closed  vault  at  the  rear  are  the  remains 
of  numerous  relatives,  and  in  front  of  the  tomb 
monuments  are  erected  to  several  of  them.  No 
monument  marks  the  hero,  but  carved  upon  the 
coffin  is  the  American  coat-of-arms,  with  the  single 
word  "  Washington." 

The  road,  farther  ascending  the  bluff,  passes  the 
original  tomb,  with  the  old  tombstone  antedating 
Washington  and  bearing  the  words  "Washington 
Family."  This  was  the  tomb,  then  containing  the 
remains,  which  Lafayette  visited  in  1824,  escorted  by 
a  military  guard  from  Alexandria  to  Mount  Vernon, 
paying  homage  to  the  dead  amid  salvos  of  cannon 
reverberating  across  the  broad  Potomac.  It  is  a 
round-topped  and  slightly  elevated  oven-shaped 
vault.  The  road  at  the  top  of  the  bluff  reaches  the 
mansion,  standing  in  a  commanding  position,  with  a 
fine  view  over  the  river  to  the  Maryland  shore.  It 
is  a  long  wooden  house,  with  an  ample  porch  facing 
the  river.  It  is  built  with  simplicity,  two  stories 
high,  and  contains  eighteen  rooms,  there  being  a 
small  surmounting  cupola  for  a  lookout.  The  central 
portion  is  the  original  house  built  by  Lawrence 
Washington,  who  called  it  his  a  villa,"  and  afterwards 
George  Washington  extended  it  by  a  large  square 
wing  at  each  end,  and  when  these  were  added  he 
gave  it  the  more  dignified  title  of  the  u  Mansion.'' 


46     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

The  house  is  ninety-six  feet  long  and  thirty  feet 
wide,  the  porch,  extending  along  the  whole  front, 
fifteen  feet  wide,  its  top  being  even  with  the  roof, 
thus  covering  the  windows  of  both  stories.  Eight 
large  square  wooden  columns  support  the  roof  of  the 
porch.  Behind  the  house,  on  either  side,  curved 
colonnades  lead  to  the  kitchens,  with  other  outbuild- 
ings beyond.  There  are  various  farm  buildings, 
and  a  brick  barn  and  stable,  the  bricks  of  which  it  is 
built  having  been  brought  out  from  England  about 
the  time  Washington  was  born,  being  readily  carried 
in  those  days  as  ballast  in  the  vessels  coming  out  for 
Virginia  tobacco.  The  front  of  the  mansion  faces 
east,  and  it  has  within  a  central  hall  with  apartments 
on  either  hand.  At  the  back,  beyond  the  outbuild- 
ings and  the  barn,  stretches  the  carriage  road,  which 
in  Washington's  time  was  the  main  entrance,  off  to 
the  porter's  lodge,  on  the  high  road,  at  the  boundary 
of  the  present  estate,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
away.  Everything  is  quiet,  and  in  the  thorough  re- 
pose befitting  such  a  great  man's  tomb  ;  and  this  is  - 
the  modest  mansion  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  that 
was  the  home  of  one  of  the  noblest  Americans. 

THE   WASHINGTON   RELICS. 

As  may  be  supposed,  this  interesting  building  is 
filled  with  relics.  The  most  valuable  of  all  of  them 
hangs  on  the  wall  of  the  central  hall,  in  a  small  glass 
case  shaped  like  a  lantern — the  Key  of  the  Bastille — 


THE  WASHINGTON  KELICS.  47 

which  was  sent  to  Washington,  as  a  gift  from  Lafay- 
ette, shortly  after  the  destruction  of  the  noted  prison 
in  1789.  This  is  the  key  of  the  main  entrance,  the 
Porte  St.  Antoine,  an  old  iron  key  with  a  large  handle 
of  peculiar  form.  This  gift  was  always  highly  prized 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  in  sending  it  Lafayette  wrote : 
"  It  is  a  tribute  which  I  owe  as  a  son  to  my  adopted 
father  ;  as  an  aide-de-camp  to  my  general ;  as  a  mis- 
sionary of  liberty  to  its  patriarch."  The  key  was 
confided  to  Thomas  Paine  for  transmission,  and  he 
sent  it  together  with  a  model  and  drawing  of  the 
Bastille.  In  sending  it  to  Washington  Paine  said: 
"  That  the  principles  of  America  opened  the  Bastille 
is  not  to  be  doubted,  and  therefore  the  key  cornea 
to  the  right  place."  The  model,  which  was  cut  from 
the  granite  stones  of  the  demolished  prison,  and  the 
drawing,  giving  a  plan  of  the  interior  and  its  ap- 
proaches, are  also  carefully  preserved  in  the  house. 

The  Washington  relics  are  profuse — portraits, 
busts,  old  furniture,  swords,  pistols  and  other 
weapons,  camp  equipage,  uniforms,  clothing,  books, 
autographs  and  musical  instruments,  including  the 
old  harpsichord  which  President  Washington  bought 
for  two  hundred  pounds  in  London,  as  a  bridal  present 
for  his  wife's  daughter,  Eleanor  Parke  Custis,  whom 
he  adopted.  There  is  also  an  old  armchair  which 
the  Pilgrims  brought  over  in  the  "Mayflower"  in 
1620.  Each  apartment  in  the  house  is  named  for  a 
State,  and  cared  for  by  one  of  the  Lady-Regents  of  the 


48     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Association.  In  the  banquet-hall,  which  is  one  of  the 
wings  Washington  added,  is  an  elaborately-carved 
Carrara  marble  mantel,  which  was  sent  him  at  the 
time  of  building  by  an  English  admirer,  Samuel 
Vaughan.  It  was  shipped  from  Italy,  and  the  tale  is 
told  that  on  the  voyage  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  pirates, 
who,  hearing  it  was  to  go  to  the  great  American 
Washington,  sent  it  along  without  ransom  and  unin- 
jured. Rembrandt  Peale's  equestrian  portrait  of 
Washington  with  his  generals  covers  almost  the  entire 
end  of  this  hall.  Here  also  is  hung  the  original  proof- 
sheet  of  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  Up  stairs 
is  the  room  where  Washington  died  j  the  bed  on 
which  he  expired  and  every  article  of  furniture  are 
preserved,  including  his  secretary  and  writing-case, 
toilet-boxes  and  dressing-stand.  Just  above  this 
chamber,  under  the  peaked  roof,  is  the  room  in  which 
Mrs.  Washington  died.  Not  wishing  to  occupy  the 
lower  room,  after  his  death,  she  selected  this  one, 
because  its  dormer  window  gave  a  view  of  his  tomb. 
The  ladies  who  have  taken  charge  of  the  place  de- 
serve great  credit  for  their  complete  restoration; 
they  hold  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  in 
the  mansion  every  May. 

As  the  visitor  walks  through  the  old  house  and 
about  the  grounds,  solemn  and  impressive  thoughts 
arise  that  are  appropriate  to  this  great  American 
shrine.  From  the  little  wooden  cupola  there  is  seen 
the  same  view  over  the  broad  Potomac  upon  which 


MARY,  THE  MOTHER  OF  WASHINGTON.        49 

Washington  so  often  gazed.  The  noble  river,  two 
miles  wide,  seems  almost  to  surround  the  estate  with 
its  majestic  curve,  flowing  between  the  densely- 
wooded  shores.  Above  Mount  Vernon  is  a  project- 
ing bluff,  which  Fort  Washington  surmounts  on  the 
opposite  shore — a  stone  work  which  he  planned— 
hardly  seeming  four  miles  off,  it  is  so  closely  visible 
across  the  water.  In  front  are  the  Maryland  hills, 
and  the  river  then  flows  to  the  southward,  its  broad 
and  winding  reaches  being  seen  afar  off,  as  the  south- 
ern shores  slope  upward  into  the  forest-covered  hills 
of  the  sacred  soil  of  the  proud  State  of  Virginia. 
And  then  the  constantly  broadening  estuary  of  the 
grand  Potomac  stretches  for  more  than  a  hundred 
miles,  far  beyond  the  distant  horizon,  until  it  becomes 
a  wide  inland  sea  and  unites  its  waters  at  Point 
Lookout  with  those  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 


To  the  southward  of  the  Potomac  a  short  distance, 
and  flowing  almost  parallel,  is  another  noted  river  of 
Virginia,  the  Rappahannock,  rising  in  the  foothills 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  broadening  into  a  wide  estu- 
ary in  its  lower  course.  Its  chief  tributary  is  the 
stream  which  the  colonists  named  after  the  "  good 
Queen  Anne,"  the  Rapid  Ann,  since  condensed  into 
the  Rapidan.  The  Indians  recognized  the  tidal  es- 
tuary of  the  Rappahannock,  for  the  name  means 
"the   current   has  returned  and  flowed  again,"  re- 


60     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ferring  to  the  tidal  ebb  and  flow.  Upon  this  stream,, 
southward  from  Washington,  is  the  quaint  old  city 
of  Fredericksburg,  which  has  about  five  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  five  times  as  many  graves  in  the  great 
National  Cemetery  on  Mary  e's  Heights  and  in  the  Con- 
federate Cemetery,  mournful  relics  of  the  sanguinary 
battles  fought  there  in  1862-63.  The  town  dates 
from  1727,  when  it  was  founded  at  the  head  of  tide- 
water on  the  Rappahannock,  where  a  considerable 
fall  furnishes  good  water-power,  about  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles  from  the  Chesapeake.  But  its  chief 
early  memory  is  of  Mary  Ball,  the  mother  of  Wash- 
ington, here  having  been  his  boyhood  home.  A 
monument  has  been  erected  to  her,  which  it  took  the 
country  more  than  a  century  to  completeo  She  was 
born  in  1706  on  the  lower  Rappahannock,  at  Epping 
Forest,  and  Sparks  and  Irving  speak  of  her  as  "  the 
belle  of  the  Northern  Neck  "  and  a  the  rose  of  Epping 
Forest."  In  early  life  she  visited  England,  and  the 
story  is  told  that  one  day  while  at  her  brother's 
house  in  Berkshire  a  gentleman's  coach  was  over- 
turned nearby  and  its  occupant  seriously  injured. 
He  was  brought  into  the  house  and  carefully  nursed 
by  Mary  Ball  until  he  fully  recovered.  This  gentle- 
man was  Colonel  Augustine  Washington,  of  Virginia, 
a  widower  with  three  sons,  and  it  is  recorded  in  the 
family  Bible  that  "  Augustine  Washington  and  Mary 
Ball  were  married  the  6th  of  March,  1730-31."  He 
brought  her  to  his  home  in  Westmoreland  County, 


WILLIAMSBUKG  AND  YORKTOWN.  51 

where  George  was  born  the  next  year.  His  house 
there  was  accidentally  burnt  and  they  removed  to 
Fredericksburg,  where  Augustine  died  in  1740  j  but 
she  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  dying  there  in  1789. 
When  her  death  was  announced  a  national  move- 
ment began  to  erect  a  monument,  but  it  was  per- 
mitted to  lapse  until  the  Washington  Centenary  in 
1832,  when  it  was  revived,  and  in  May,  1833,  Presi- 
dent Jackson  laid  the  corner-stone  with  impressive 
ceremonies  in  the  presence  of  a  large  assemblage  of 
distinguished  people.  The  monument  was  started 
and  partially  completed,  only  again  to  lapse  into 
desuetude.  In  1890  the  project  was  revived,  funds 
were  collected  by  an  association  of  ladies,  and  in 
May,  1894,  a  handsome  white  marble  obelisk,  fifty 
feet  high,  was  created  and  dedicated.  It  bears  the 
simple  inscription,  "Mary,  the  Mother  of  Wash- 
ington." 

WILLIAMSBURG   AND   YORKTOWN. 

Again  we  cross  over  southward  from  the  Rappa- 
hannock to  another  broad  tidal  estuary,  an  arm  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  the  York  River.  This  is  formed 
by  two  comparatively  small  rivers,  the  Mattapony 
and  the  Pamunkey,  the  latter  being  the  Indian  name 
of  York  River.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  Indians 
who  originally  frequented  and  named  these  streams 
did  not  have  as  comfortable  lives  in  that  region  as 
they  could  have  wished,  for  the  Mattapony  means 
"  no  bread  at  all  to  be  had,"  and  the  Pamunkey  means 


62     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

9  where  we  were  all  sweating."  To  the  southward 
of  York  River,  and  between  it  and  James  River,  is 
the  famous  "  Peninsula,"  the  locality  of  the  first  set- 
tlements in  Virginia,  the  theatre  of  the  closing  scene 
of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  route  taken 
by  General  McClellan  in  his  Peninsular  campaign  of 
1862  against  Richmond.  Williamsburg,  which  stands 
on  an  elevated  plateau  about  midway  of  the  Penin- 
sula, three  or  four  miles  from  each  river,  was  the 
ancient  capital  of  Virginia,  and  it  has  as  relics  the 
old  church  and  magazine  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  the  venerable  College  of  William  and  Mary, 
chartered  in  1693,  though  its  present  buildings  are 
mainly  modern.  This  city  was  named  for  King 
William  IH.,  and  was  fixed  as  the  capital  in  1699, 
the  government  removing  from  Jamestown  the  next 
year.  In  1780  the  capital  was  again  removed  to 
Richmond.  This  old  city,  which  was  besieged  and 
captured  by  McClellan  in  his  march  up  the  Peninsula 
in  May,  1862,  now  has  about  eighteen  hundred  in- 
habitants. 

Down  on  the  bank  of  York  River,  not  far  from 
Chesapeake  Bay,  with  a  few  remains  of  the  British 
entrenchments  still  visible,  is  Yorktown,  the  scene 
of  CornwaluVs  surrender,  the  last  conflict  of  the 
American  Revolution.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  Brit- 
ish commander-in-chief  in  1781,  ordered  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  to  occupy  a  strong  defensible  position  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  he  established  himself  at  Yorktown  on 


WILLIAMSBURG  AND  YORKTOWN.  58 

August  1st,  with  his  army  of  eight  thousand  men, 
supported  by  several  warships  in  York  River,  and 
strongly  fortified  not  only  Yorktown,  but  also  Glou- 
cester Point,  across  the  river.  In  September  the 
American  and  French  forces  effected  a  junction  at 
Williamsburg,  marching  to  the  investment  of  York- 
town  on  the  28th.  Washington  commanded  the 
besieging  forces,  numbering  about  sixteen  thousand 
men,  of  whom  seven  thousand  were  Frenchmen, 
Upon  their  approach  the  British  abandoned  the  out- 
works, and  the  investment  of  the  town  was  completed 
on  the  30th.  The  first  parallel  of  the  siege  was  es- 
tablished October  9th,  and  heavy  batteries  opened 
with  great  effect,  dismounting  numerous  British  guns, 
and  destroying  on  the  night  of  the  10th  a  frigate  and 
three  large  transports.  The  second  parallel  was 
opened  on  the  11th,  and  on  the  14th,  by  a  brilliant 
movement,  two  British  redoubts  were  captured.  The 
French  fleet,  under  Count  De  Grasse,  in  Chesapeake 
Bay,  prevented  escape  by  sea,  and  CornwalhVs  posi- 
tion became  very  critical.  On  the  16th  he  made  a 
sortie,  which  failed,  and  on  the  17th  he  proposed 
capitulation.  The  terms  being  arranged,  he  surren- 
dered October  19th,  this  deciding  the  struggle  for 
American  independence.  When  the  British  troops 
marched  out  of  the  place,  and  passed  between  the 
French  and  American  armies,  it  is  recorded  that  their 
bands  dolefully  played  "  The  World  Turned  Upside 
Down."     Considering  the  momentous  results  follow- 


64     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ing  the  capitulation,  this  may  be  regarded  as  pro- 
phetic. Yorktown  was  again  besieged  in  1862  by 
McClellan,  and  after  several  weeks  was  taken  in 
May,  the  army  then  starting  on  its  march  up  the 
Peninsula. 

THE  NATURAL  BRIDGE. 

The  chief  river  of  Virginia  is  the  James,  a  noble 
stream,  rising  in  the  Alleghenies  and  flowing  for  four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  western  border  of 
the  Old  Dominion  until  it  falls  into  Chesapeake  Bay 
at  Hampton  Roads.  Its  sources  are  in  a  region  noted 
for  mineral  springs,  and  the  union  of  Jackson  and 
Cowpasture  Rivers  makes  the  James,  which  flows  to 
the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  there  receives  a 
smaller  tributary,  not  inappropriately  named  the 
Calfpasture  River.  The  James  breaks  through  the 
Blue  Ridge  by  a  magnificent  gorge  at  Balcony  Falls. 
Seven  miles  away,  spanning  the  little  stream  known 
as  Cedar  Brook,  is  the  famous  Natural  Bridge,  the 
wonderful  arch  of  blue  limestone  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet  high,  ninety  feet  wide,  and  having  a  span 
of  a  hundred  feet  thrown  across  the  chasm,  which 
has  given  to  the  county  the  name  of  Rockbridge. 
Overlooking  the  river  and  the  bridge  and  all  the 
country  roundabout  are  the  two  noble  Peaks  of  Otter, 
rising  about  four  thousand  feet,  the  highest  moun- 
tains in  that  part  of  the  Alleghenies.  This  wonder- 
ful bridge  is  situated  at  the  extremity  of  a  deep 
chasm,  through  which  the  brook  flows,  across  the  top 


THE  NATURAL  BRIDGE.  55 

of  which  extends  the  rocky  stratum  in  the  form  of  a 
graceful  arch.  It  looks  as  if  the  limestone  rock  had 
originally  covered  the  entire  stream  bed,  which  then 
flowed  through  a  subterranean  tunnel,  the  rest  of  the 
limestone  roof  having  fallen  in  and  been  gradually 
washed  away.  The  bridge  is  finely  situated  in  a 
grand  amphitheatre  surrounded  by  mountains.  The 
crown  of  the  arch  is  forty  feet  thick,  the  rocky  walls 
are  perpendicular,  and  over  the  top  passes  a  public 
road,  which,  being  on  the  same  level  as  the  imme- 
diately adjacent  country,  one  may  cross  it  in  a  coach 
without  noticing  the  bridged  chasm  beneath.  Vari- 
ous large  forest  trees  grow  beneath  and  under  the 
arch,  but  are  not  tall  enough  to  reach  it.  On  the 
rocky  abutments  of  the  bridge  are  carved  the  names 
of  many  persons  who  had  climbed  as  high  as  they 
dared  on  the  steep  face  of  the  precipice.  Highest 
of  all,  for  about  seventy  years,  was  the  name  of 
Washington,  who,  in  his  youth,  ascended  about 
twenty-five  feet  to  a  point  never  before  reached  j 
but  this  feat  was  surpassed  in  1818  by  James  Piper, 
a  college  student,  who  actually  climbed  from  the  foot 
to  the  top  of  the  rock.  In  1774  Thomas  Jefferson 
obtained  a  grant  of  land  from  George  III.  which  in- 
cluded the  Natural  Bridge,  and  he  was  long  the 
owner,  building  the  first  house  there,  a  log  cabin 
with  two  rooms,  one  being  for  the  reception  of 
strangers.  Jefferson  called  the  bridge  "a  famous 
place  that  will  draw  the  attention  of  the  world  f9 


56     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall  described  it  as  u  Grod's  great- 
est miracle  in  stone  f  and  Henry  Clay  said  it  was 
"The  bridge  not  made  with  hands,  that  spans  a 
river,  carries  a  highway,  and  makes  two  moun- 
tains one." 

THE   JAMES   RIVER  AND   POWHATAN. 

Following  down  James  River,  constantly  receiving 
accessions  from  mountain  streams,  we  soon  come  to 
Lynchburg,  most  picturesquely  built  on  the  sloping 
foothills  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  having  fine  water- 
power  for  its  factories,  a  centre  of  the  great  tobacco 
industry  of  Virginia,  supporting  a  population  of 
about  twenty  thousand  people.  Lynchburg  was  a 
chief  source  of  supply  for  Lee's  army  in  Eastern 
Virginia  until,  in  February,  1865,  Sheridan,  by  a 
bold  raid,  destroyed  the  canal  and  railroads  giving  it 
communication ;  and,  after  evacuating  Richmond, 
Lee  was  endeavoring  to  reach  Lynchburg  when  he 
surrendered  at  Appomattox,  about  twenty  miles  to 
the  eastward,  on  April  9,  1865,  thus  ending  the  Civil 
War.  The  little  village  of  Appomattox  Court  House 
is  known  in  the  neighborhood  as  Clover  Hill.  When 
Lee  surrendered,  casualties,  captures  and  desertions 
had  left  him  barely  twenty-seven  thousand  men,  with 
only  ten  thousand  muskets,  thirty  cannon  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty  wagons. 

The  James  River,  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  drains 
a  grand  agricultural  district,  and  its  coffee-colored 


THE  JAMES  RIVER  AND  POWHATAN.  57 

waters  tell  of  the  rich  red  soils  through  which  it 
comes  in  the  tobacco  plantations  all  the  way  past 
Lynchburg  to  Richmond.  In  its  earlier  history  this 
noted  river  was  called  the  Powhatan,  and  it  bears 
that  name  on  the  older  maps.  Powhatan,  the  original 
word,  meant,  in  the  Indian  dialect,  the  a  falls  of  the 
stream"  or  "the  falling  waters,"  thus  named  from 
the  falls  and  rapids  at  Richmond,  where  the  James, 
in  the  distance  of  nine  miles,  has  a  descent  of  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  feet,  furnishing  the  magnificent 
water-power  which  is  the  source  of  much  of  the 
wealth  of  Virginia's  present  capital.  The  old  Indian 
sachem  whose  fame  is  so  intertwined  with  that  of 
Virginia  took  his  name  of  Powhatan  from  the  river. 
His  original  name  was  Wahunsonacock  when  the 
colonists  first  found  him,  and  he  then  lived  on  York 
River ;  but  it  is  related  that  he  grew  in  power,  raised 
himself  to  the  command  of  no  less  than  thirty  tribes, 
and  ruled  all  the  country  from  southward  of  the  James 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Potomac  as  far  as  Chesapeake 
Bay.  When  he  became  great,  for  he  was  unques- 
tionably the  greatest  Virginian  of  the  seventeeth 
century,  he  changed  his  name  and  removed  to  the 
James  River,  just  below  the  edgv,  of  Richmond, 
where,  near  the  river  bank,  is  now  pointed  out  his 
home,  still  called  Powhatan.  It  was  here  that  the 
Princess  Pocahontas  is  said  to  have  interfered  to 
save  the  life  of  Captain  John  Smith.  Here  still 
stands  a  precious  relic  in  the  shape  of  an  old  chim- 


58     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

ney,  believed  to  have  been  originally  built  for  the 
Indian  king's  cabin  by  his  colonist  friends.  It  is  of 
solid  masonry,  and  is  said  to  have  outlasted  several 
successive  cabins  which  had  been  built  up  against  it 
in  Southern  style.  A  number  of  cedars  growing 
alongside,  tradition  describes  as  shadowing  the  very 
stone  on  which  Smith's  head  was  laid.  It  may  not 
be  generally  known  that  early  in  the  history  of  the 
colony  Powhatan  was  crowned  as  a  king,  there 
having  been  brought  out  from  England,  for  the  spe- 
cial purpose,  a  crown  and  u  a  scarlet  cloke  and  ap- 
parrell."  The  writer  recording  the  ceremony  says 
quaintly :  "  Foule  trouble  there  was  to  make  him 
kneele  to  receive  his  crowne.  At  last,  by  leaning 
hard  on  his  shoulders,  he  a  little  stooped,  and  three 
having  the  crowne  in  their  hands,  put  it  on  his  head. 
To  congratulate  their  kindnesse,  he  gave  his  old 
shoes  and  his  mantell  to  Captaine  Newport,  telling 
him  take  them  as  presents  to  King  James  in  return 
for  his  gifts." 

THE   INDIAN   PRINCESS   POCAHONTAS. 

The  James  River  carries  a  heavy  commerce  below 
Richmond,  and  the  channel  depths  of  the  wayward 
and  very  crooked  stream  are  maintained  by  an 
elaborate  system  of  jetties,  constructed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. Both  shores  show  the  earthworks  that  are 
relics  of  the  war,  and  Drewry's  Bluff,  with  Fort  Dar- 
ling, the  citadel  of  the  Confederate  defence  of  the 


THE  INDIAN  PEINCESS  POCAHONTAS.  59 

river,  is  projected  across  the  stream.  Below  is 
Dutch  Gap,  where  the  winding  river,  flowing  in  a 
level  plain,  makes  a  double  reverse  curve,  going 
around  a  considerable  surface  without  making  much 
actual  progress.  Here  is  the  Dutch  Gap  Canal, 
which  General  Butler  cut  through  the  narrowest  part 
of  the  long  neck  of  land,  thus  avoiding  Confederate 
batteries  and  saving  a  detour  of  five  and  a  half 
miles  $  it  is  now  used  for  navigation.  Just  below  is 
the  large  plantation  of  Varina,  where  the  Indian 
Princess  Pocahontas  lived  after  her  marriage  with 
the  Englishman,  John  Eolfe.  Its  fine  brick  colonial 
mansion  was  the  headquarters  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  during  the  Civil  War. 

The  brief  career  of  Pocahontas  is  the  great  romance 
of  the  first  settlement  of  Virginia.  She  was  the 
daughter  and  favorite  child  of  Powhatan,  her  name 
being  taken  from  a  running  brook,  and  meaning  the 
"  bright  streamlet  between  the  hills."  When  the  In- 
dians captured  Captain  John  Smith  she  was  about 
twelve  years  of  age.  He  made  friends  of  the  Indian 
children,  and  whittled  playthings  for  them,  so  that 
Pocahontas  became  greatly  interested  in  him,  and 
the  tale  of  her  saving  his  life  is  so  closely  interwoven 
with  the  early  history  of  the  colony  that  those  who 
declare  it  apocryphal  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
obliterate  it  from  our  school-books.  Smith  being 
afterwards  liberated,  Pocahontas  always  had  a  long- 
ing for  him,  was  the  medium  of  getting  the  colonists 


60     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

food,  warned  them  of  plots,  and  took  an  interest  in 
them  even  after  Smith  returned  to  England.  The 
tale  was  then  told  her  that  Smith  was  dead.  In 
1614  Pocahontas,  about  nineteen  years  old,  was  kid- 
napped and  taken  to  Jamestown,  in  order  to  carry 
out  a  plan  of  the  Governor  by  which  Powhatan,  to 
save  his  daughter,  would  make  friendship  with  the 
colony,  and  it  resulted  as  intended.  Pocahontas 
remained  several  weeks  in  the  colony,  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  younger  people,  and  fell  in  love 
with  Master  John  Rolfe.  Pocahontas  returned  to 
her  father,  who  consented  to  the  marriage ;  she  was 
baptized  at  Jamestown  as  Lady  Rebecca,  and  her 
uncle  and  two  brothers  afterwards  attended  the 
wedding,  the  uncle  giving  the  Indian  bride  away  in 
the  little  church  at  Jamestown,  April  5,  1614.  A 
peace  of  several  years'  duration  was  the  consequence 
of  this  union.  Two  years  afterwards  Pocahontas  and 
her  husband  proceeded  to  England,  where  she  was 
an  object  of  the  greatest  interest  to  all  classes  of 
people,  and  was  presented  at  Court,  the  Queen 
warmly  receiving  her.  Captain  Smith  visited  her  in 
London,  and  after  saluting  him  she  turned  away  her 
face  and  hid  it  in  her  hands,  thus  continuing  for  over 
two  hours.  This  was  due  to  her  surprise  at  seeing 
Smith,  for  there  is  no  doubt  her  husband  was  a  party 
to  the  deception,  he  probably  thinking  she  would 
never  marry  him  while  Smith  was  living.  The 
winter  climate  of  England  was  too  severe  for  her, 


SHIRLEY,  BERKELEY  AND  WESTOVER.         61 

and  when  about  embarking  to  return  to  Virginia  she 
suddenly  died  at  Gravesend,  in  March,  1617,  aged 
about  twenty-two.  She  left  one  son,  Thomas  Rolfe, 
who  was  educated  in  London,  and  in  after  life  went 
to  Virginia,  where  he  became  a  man  of  note  and 
influence.  From  him  are  descended  the  famous 
children  of  Pocahontas — the  "  First  Families  of  Vir- 
ginia"— the  Randolph,  Boiling,  Fleming  and  other 
families. 


The  winding  James  flows  by  Deep  Bottom  and 
Turkey  Bend,  and  one  elongated  neck  of  land  after 
another,  passing  the  noted  battlefield  of  Malvern 
Hill,  which  ended  General  McClellan's  disastrous 
u  Seven  Days"  of  battles  and  retreat  from  the  Chicka- 
hominy  swamps  in  1862.  The  great  ridge  of  Mal- 
vern Hill  stretches  away  from  the  river  towards  the 
northwest,  and  in  that  final  battle  which  checked  the 
Confederate  pursuit  it  was  a  vast  amphitheatre  ter- 
raced with  tier  upon  tier  of  artillery,  the  gunboats  in 
the  river  joining  in  the  Union  defense.  Below,  on 
the  other  shore,  are  the  spacious  lowlands  of  Ber- 
muda Hundred,  where,  in  General  Grant's  significant 
phrase,  General  Butler  was  "  bottled  up."  Here,  on 
the  eastern  bank,  is  the  plantation  of  Shirley,  one  of 
the  famous  Virginian  settlements,  still  held  by  the 
descendants  of  its  colonial  owners — the  Carters.  The 
wide  and  attractive  old  brick  colonial  house,  with  its 


62     AMEKICA,  HCTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

hipped  and  pointed  roof,  stands  behind  a  fringe  of 
trees  along  the  shore,  with  numerous  outbuildings 
constructed  around  a  quadrangle  behind.  It  is  built 
of  bricks  brought  out  from  England,  is  two  stories 
high,  with  a  capacious  front  porch,  and  around  the 
roof  are  rows  of  dormer  windows,  above  which  the 
roof  runs  from  all  sides  up  into  a  point  between  the 
tall  and  ample  chimneys.  The  southern  view  from 
Shirley  is  across  the  James  to  the  mouth  of  Appo- 
mattox River  and  City  Point. 

The  Appomattox  originates  in  the  Blue  Ridge  near 
Lynchburg,  and  flows  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
eastward  to  the  James,  of  which  it  is  the  chief  tribu- 
tary. It  passes  Petersburg  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  its  point  of  union  with  the  James,  this  union  being 
at  a  high  bluff  thrust  out  between  the  rivers,  with 
abrupt  slopes  and  a  plateau  on  the  top,  which  is  well 
shaded.  Here  is  the  house — the  home  of  Dr.  Epps 
— used  by  General  Grant  as  his  headquarters  during 
the  operations  from  the  south  side  of  the  James 
against  Petersburg  and  Lee's  army  in  1864-65. 
Grant  occupied  two  little  log  cabins  on  top  of  the 
bluff,  just  east  of  the  house  j  one  his  dwelling  and 
the  other  his  office.  One  is  still  there  in  dilapida- 
tion, and  the  other  is  preserved  as  a  relic  in  Fair- 
mount  Park,  Philadelphia.  A  short  distance  away 
is  the  little  town  of  City  Point,  with  its  ruined 
wharves,  where  an  enormous  business  was  then  done 
in  landing  army   supplies.     To  the    eastward  the 


SHIRLEY,  BERKELEY  AND  WESTOVER.         63 

James  flows,  a  steadily  broadening  stream,  past  the 
sloping  shores  on  the  northern  bank,  where,  at  Har- 
rison's Landing,  McClellan  rested  his  troops  after  the 
"  Seven  Days,"  having  retreated  there  from  the  bat- 
tle at  Malvern  Hill.  His  camps  occupied  the  planta- 
tions of  Berkeley  and  Westover,  the  former  having 
been  the  birthplace  of  General  William  Henry  Har- 
rison, who  was  President  of  the  United  States  for  a 
few  weeks  in  1841,  the  first  President  who  died  in 
office.  The  Berkeley  House  is  a  spacious  and  com- 
fortable mansion,  but  it  lost  its  grand  shade-trees 
during  the  war.  A  short  distance  farther  down  is 
the  quaint  old  Queen  Anne  mansion  of  red  brick,  with 
one  wing  only,  the  other  having  been  burnt  during 
the  war  j  with  pointed  roof  and  tall  chimneys,  stand- 
ing at  the  top  of  a  beautifully  sloping  bank — West- 
over  House,  the  most  famous  of  the  old  mansions  on 
the  James.  It  was  the  home  of  the  Byrds — grand- 
father, father  and  son — noted  in  Virginian  colonial 
history,  whose  arms  are  emblazoned  on  the  iron  gates, 
and  who  sleep  in  the  little  graveyard  alongside. 
The  most  renowned  of  these  was  the  second,  the 
u  Honourable  William  Byrd  of  Westover,  Esquire," 
who  was  the  founder  of  both  Richmond  and  Peters- 
burg. 

William  Byrd  was  a  man  of  imposing  personal  ap- 
pearance and  the  highest  character,  and  his  full- 
length  portrait  in  flowing  periwig  and  lace  ruffles, 
after  Van  Dyck,  is  preserved  at  Lower  Brandon, 


64     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

farther  down  the  river.     He  inherited  a  large  landed 
estate — over  fifty  thousand  acres — and  ample  for- 
tune, and  was  educated  in  England,  where  he  wa8 
called  to  the  bar  at  the  Middle  Temple,  and  made  a 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,     The  inscription  on 
his  Westover  tomb  tells  that  he  was  a  friend  of  the 
learned  Earl  of  Orrery.     He  held  high  offices  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  possessed  the  largest  private  library  then 
in  America.     In  connection  with  one  Peter  Jones,  in 
1733,  he  laid  out  both  Richmond  and  Petersburg  on 
lands  he  owned,  at  the  head  of  navigation  respec* 
tively  on  the  James  and  the  Appomattox.     He  left 
profuse  journals,  published   since   as   the   Westover 
Manuscripts,  and  they  announce  that  Petersburg  was 
gratefully  named  in  honor  of  his  companion-founder, 
Peter  Jones,  and  that  Richmond's  name  came  from 
Byrd's  vivid  recollection  of  the  outlook  from  Rich- 
mond Hill  over  the  Thames  in  England,  which  he 
found  strikingly  reproduced  in  the  soft  hills  and  far- 
stretching    meadows   adjoining    the    rapids    of    the 
James,  with  the  curving  sweep  of  the  river  as  it 
flowed  away  from  view  behind  the  glimmering  woods. 
He  died  in  1744.     Westover  House  was  McClelland 
headquarters  in  1862.     The  estates  have  gone  from 
Byrd's  descendants,  but  the  house  has  been  com- 
pletely restored,  and  is  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  on 
the   James.     Major   Augustus   D  re  wry,   its   recent 
owner,  died   in  July,  1899,   at   an   advanced   age. 
Coggins  Point  projects  opposite  Westover,  and  noted 


THE  COLONY  OF  JAMESTOWN.  65 

plantations  and  mansions  line  the  river  banks,  bear- 
ing, with  the  counties,  well-known  English  names. 
Here  is  the  ruined  stone  Fort  Powhatan,  a  relic  of 
the  War  of  1812,  with  the  Unionist  earthworks  of 
1864-65  on  the  bluff  above  it.  Then  we  get  among 
the  lowland  swamps,  where  the  cypress  trees  elevate 
their  conical  knees  and  roots  above  the  water.  The 
James  has  become  a  wide  estuary,  and  the  broad 
Chickahominy  flows  in  between  low  shores,  draining 
the  swamps  east  of  Richmond  and  the  James.  This 
was  the  "  lick  at  which  turkeys  were  plenty,"  the 
Indians  thus  recognizing  in  the  name  of  the  river 
the  favorite  resort  of  the  wild  turkey. 

THE   COLONY   OF  JAMESTOWN. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  region  of  earliest  Eng- 
lish settlement  in  America,  where  Newport  and 
Smith,  in  1607,  planted  their  colony  of  Jamestown 
upon  a  low  yellow  bluff  on  the  northern  river  bank. 
It  is  thirty-two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  James 
River,  and  the  bluff,  by  the  action  of  the  water,  has 
been  made  an  island.  The  location  was  probably 
selected  because  this  furnished  protection  from  at- 
tacks. The  later  encroachments  of  the  river  have 
swept  away  part  of  the  site  of  the  early  settlement, 
and  a  portion  of  the  old  church  tower  and  some 
tombstones  are  now  the  only  relics  of  the  ancieut 
town.  The  ruins  of  the  tower  can  be  seen  on  top  of 
the  bluff,  almost   overgrown  with  moss  and  vines* 


66     AMEBICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

Behind  is  the  wall  of  the  graveyard  where  the  first 
settlers  were  buried.  A  couple  of  little  cabins  are 
the  only  present  signs  of  settlement,  the  mansion  of 
the  Jamestown  plantation  being  some  distance  down 
the  river. 

When  the  English  colony  first  came  to  Jamestown 
in  1607,  they  were  hunting  for  gold  and  for  the 
"northwest  passage"  to  the  East  Indies.  In  fact, 
most  of  the  American  colonizing  began  with  these 
objects.  They  had  an  idea  in  Europe  that  America 
was  profuse  in  gold  and  gems.  In  1605  a  play  of 
u  Eastward,  Ho  "  was  performed  in  London,  in  which 
one  of  the  characters  said:  "I  tell  thee  golde  is 
more  plentifull  in  Virginia  than  copper  is  with  us, 
and  for  as  much  redde  copper  as  I  can  bring,  I  will 
have  thrice  the  weight  in  golde.  All  their  pannes 
and  pottes  are  pure  gould,  and  all  the  chaines  with 
which  they  chaine  up  their  streetes  are  massie  gould ; 
all  the  prisoners  they  take  are  fettered  in  golde ;  and 
for  rubies  and  diamonds  they  goe  forth  in  holidays 
and  gather  them  by  the  seashore  to  hang  on  their 
children's  coates  and  sticke  in  their  children's  caps 
as  commonally  as  our  children  wear  saffron,  gilt 
brooches,  and  groates  with  hoales  in  them."  The 
whole  party,  on  landing  at  Jamestown,  started  to 
hunt  for  gold.  Smith  wrote  that  among  the  English 
colonists  there  was  "  no  talk,  no  hope,  no  work,  but 
dig  gold,  wash  gold,  refine  gold,  loade  gold."  They 
found  some  shining  pyrites  that  deceived  them,  and 


THE  COLONY  OP  JAMESTOWN.  67 

therefore  the  first  ship  returning  to  England  carried 
away  a  cargo  of  shining  dirt,  found  entirely  worth- 
less on  arrival.  The  second  ship,  after  a  long  de- 
bate, they  more  wisely  sent  back  with  a  cargo  of 
cedar.  They  hunted  for  the  "  northwest  passage," 
first  going  up  the  James  to  the  falls  at  the  site  of 
Richmond,  but  returning  disappointed.  It  was  this 
same  hunt  for  a  route  to  the  Pacific  which  after- 
wards took  Smith  up  the  Chickahominy,  where 
he  got  among  the  swamps  and  was  captured  by  the 
Indians. 

The  Jamestown  colonists  met  with  great  dis- 
couragements. Most  of  them  were  unfitted  for  pio- 
neers, and  the  neighboring  swamps  gave  them  mala- 
ria in  the  hot  summer,  so  that  nearly  half  perished. 
Smith,  by  his  courage  and  enterprise,  however,  kept 
the  colony  alive  and  took  charge,  being  their  leader 
until  captured  by  the  Indians,  and  also  afterwards, 
until  his  return  to  England.  Among  the  first  con- 
structions at  Jamestown  were  a  storehouse  and  a 
church.  These,  however,  were  soon  burnt,  and  a 
second  church  and  storehouse  were  erected  in  Sep- 
tember, 1608.  This  church  was  like  a  barn  in  ap- 
pearance, the  base  being  supported  by  crotched 
stakes,  and  the  walls  and  roof  were  made  of  rafts, 
sedge  and  earth,  which  soon  decayed.  When  Smith 
left  Jamestown  for  England  in  1609  the  place  con- 
tained about  sixty  houses,  and  was  surrounded  by  a 
stockade.  Smith  early  saw  the  necessity  of  raising 
Vol.  1—4 


68     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

food,  and  determined  to  begin  the  growing  of  maize, 
or  Indian  corn.  Consequently,  early  in  1608  he  pre- 
vailed upon  two  Indians  he  had  captured  to  teach  the 
method  of  planting  the  corn.  Under  their  direction 
a  tract  of  about  forty  acres  was  planted  in  squares, 
with  intervals  of  four  feet  between  the  holes  which 
received  the  Indian  corn  for  seed.  This  crop  grew 
and  was  partly  harvested,  a  good  deal  of  it,  however, 
being  eaten  green.  Thus  the  Indian  invented  the 
method  of  corn-planting  universally  observed  in  the 
United  States,  and  this  crop  of  forty  acres  of  1608 
was  the  first  crop  of  the  great  American  cereal  grown 
by  white  men.  Wheat  brought  out  from  England 
was  first  planted  at  Jamestown  in  1618  on  a  field  of 
about  thirty  acres,  this  being  the  first  wheat  crop 
grown  in  the  United  States. 

Captain  John  Smith,  before  he  left  Jamestown, 
estimated  that  there  were  about  fifty-five  hundred 
Indians  within  a  radius  of  sixty  miles  around  the 
colony,  and  in  his  works  he  enumerates  the  various 
tribes.  Describing  their  mode  of  life,  he  wrote  that 
they  grew  fat  or  lean  according  to  the  season.  When 
food  was  abundant,  he  said,  they  stuffed  themselves 
night  and  day  j  and,  unless  unforeseen  emergencies 
compelled  them  to  arouse,  they  dropped  asleep  as 
soon  as  their  stomachs  were  filled.  So  ravenous 
were  their  appetites  that  a  colonist  employing  an  In- 
dian was  compelled  to  allow  him  a  quantity  of  food 
double  that  given  an  English  laborer.   In  a  period  of 


GRANT  MONUMENT,  FAIRMOUNT  PARK,  PHILADELPHIA 


Pict.  America— Vol.  One 


THE  COLONY  OF  JAMESTOWN.  69 

want  or  hardship,  when  no  food  was  to  be  had,  the 
warrior  simply  drew  his  belt  more  tightly  about  his 
waist  to  try  and  appease  the  pangs  of  hunger.  The 
Indians,  when  the  colonists  arrived,  were  found  to 
divide  the  year  into  five  seasons,  according  to  its 
varying  character.  These  were,  first,  Cattapeuk, 
the  season  of  blossoms ;  second,  Cohattayough,  the 
season  when  the  sun  rode  highest  in  the  heavens; 
third,  Nepenough,  the  season  when  the  ears  of  maize 
were  large  enough  to  be  roasted  ;  fourth,  Taquetock, 
the  season  of  the  falling  leaves,  when  the  maize  was 
gathered ;  and  fifth,  Cohonk,  the  season  when  long 
lines  of  wild  geese  appeared,  flying  from  the  north, 
uttering  the  cry  suggesting  the  name,  thus  heralding 
the  winter. 

The  colony  was  very  unfortunate,  and  in  1617 
was  reduced  to  only  five  or  six  buildings.  The 
church  had  then  decayed  and  fallen  to  the  ground, 
and  a  third  church,  fifty  by  twenty  feet,  was  after- 
wards built.  Additional  settlers  were  sent  out  from 
England  in  the  next  two  years,  and  the  Virginians 
were  granted  a  government  of  their  own,  the  new 
Governor,  Sir  George  Yeardley,  arriving  in  the  spring 
of  1619.  The  Company  in  London  also  sent  them  a 
communication  "  that  those  cruell  laws,  by  which  the 
ancient  planters  had  soe  long  been  governed,  were 
now  abrogated  in  favor  of  those  free  laws  which  his 
majesties  subjects  lived  under  in  Englande."  It 
continued  by  stating  "  That  the  planters  might  have 


70     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

a  hande  in  the  governing  of  themselves  yt  was  granted 
that  a  generall  assemblie  should  be  held  yearly  once, 
whereat  to  be  present  the  governor  and  counsell  with 
two  burgesses  from  each  plantation,  freely  to  be 
elected  by  the  inhabitants  thereof,  this  assemblie  to 
have  power  to  make  and  ordaine  whatsoever  laws 
and  orders  should  by  them  be  thought  good  and 
profitable  for  their  subsistence."  The  Governor  con- 
sequently summoned  the  first  "  House  of  Burgesses" 
in  Virginia,  which  met  at  Jamestown,  July  30,  1619, 
the  first  legislative  body  in  America.  Twenty -two 
members  took  their  seats  in  the  new  church  at  James- 
town. They  are  described  as  wearing  bright-colored 
silk  and  velvet  coats,  with  starched  ruffs,  and  as 
having  kept  their  hats  on  as  in  the  English  House  of 
Commons.  The  Governor  sat  in  the  choir,  and  with 
him  were  several  leading  men  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  Company  on  the  Governor's  Council. 
They  passed  various  laws,  chiefly  about  tobacco  and 
taxes,  and  sent  them  to  England,  where  the  Company 
confirmed  them,  and  afterwards,  in  1621,  granted  the 
u  Great  Charter,"  which  was  the  first  Constitution  of 
Virginia. 

The  colonists  got  into  trouble  with  the  Indians  in 
1622,  and  having  killed  an  Indian  who  murdered  a 
white  man,  Jamestown  was  attacked  and  the  inhabit- 
ants massacred,  three  hundred  and  forty-five  being 
killed.  Governor  Butler,  who  visited  the  place  not 
long  after  the  massacre,  wrote  that  the  houses  were 


THE  COLONY  OF  JAMESTOWN.  71 

the  il  worst  in  the  world,"  and  that  the  most  wretched 
cottages  in  England  were  equal,  if  not  superior,  in 
appearance  and  comfort  to  the  finest  dwellings  in  the 
colony.  The  first  houses  were  mostly  of  bark,  imi- 
tating those  of  the  Indian ;  and,  there  being  neither 
sawmills  to  prepare  planks  nor  nails  to  fasten  them, 
the  later  constructions  were  usually  of  logs  plastered 
with  mud,  with  thatched  roofs.  The  more  preten- 
tious of  these  were  built  double — "  two  pens  and  a 
passage,"  as  they  have  been  described.  As  late  as 
1675  Jamestown  had  only  a  few  families,  with  not 
more  than  seventy-five  population.  Labor  was 
always  in  demand  there,  and  at  first  the  laborers 
were  brought  out  from  England.  There  was  no 
money,  and  having  early  learnt  to  raise  tobacco  from 
the  Indians,  this  became  the  chief  crop,  and,  being 
sure  of  sale  in  England,  became  the  standard  of  value. 
Tobacco  was  the  great  export,  twenty  thousand 
pounds  being  exported  in  1619,  forty  thousand  in 
1620  and  sixty  thousand  in  1622.  Everything  was 
valued  in  tobacco,  and  this  continued  the  practical 
currency  for  the  first  century.  They  imported  a 
lot  of  copper,  however,  with  which  to  make  small 
coins  for  circulation.  As  the  tobacco  fluctuated  in 
price  in  England,  it  made  a  very  unstable  standard 
of  value.  Gradually,  afterwards,  large  amounts  of 
gold  and  silver  coin  came  into  Virginia  in  payment 
for  produce,  thus  supplanting  the  tobacco  as  a 
standard. 


72     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE   VIRGINIAN   PLANTERS. 

Land  was  cheap  in  Virginia  in  the  early  days. 
In  1662  the  King  of  Mattapony  sold  his  village  and 
five  thousand  acres  to  the  colonists  for  fifty  match- 
coats.  During  the  seventeenth  century  the  value 
of  land  reckoned  in  tobacco,  as  sold  in  England, 
averaged  for  cleared  ground  about  four  shillings  per 
acre,  the  shilling  then  having  a  purchasing  power 
equal  to  a  dollar  now.  It  was  at  this  time  that  most 
of  the  great  Virginian  estates  along  James  River 
were  formed,  the  colonists  securing  in  some  cases 
large  grants.  Thus,  John  Carter  of  Lancaster  took 
up  18,570  acres,  John  Page  5000  acres,  Richard 
Lee  12,000  acres,  William  Byrd  15,000  acres,  after- 
wards largely  increased;  Robert  Beverley  37,000 
acres  and  William  Fitzhugh  over  50,000  acres. 
These  were  the  founders  of  some  of  the  most  famous 
Virginian  families.  The  demand  for  labor  naturally 
brought  Virginia  within  the  market  of  the  slave 
trader,  but  very  few  negroes  were  there  in  the  earlier 
period.  The  first  negroes  who  arrived  in  Virginia 
were  disembarked  at  Jamestown  from  a  Dutch  pri- 
vateer in  1619 — twenty  Africans.  In  1622  there 
were  twenty-two  there,  two  more  having  landed ; 
but  it  is  noted  that  no  negro  was  killed  in  the  James- 
town massacre.  In  1649  there  were  only  three 
hundred  negroes  in  Virginia,  and  in  1671  there  were 
about  two  thousand.     In  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 


THE  VIRGINIAN  PLANTERS.  73 

teenth  century  the  arrivals  of  negro  slaves  became 
more  frequent — labor  being  in  demand.  The  records 
show  that  the  planters  had  great  difficulty  in  supply- 
ing them  with  names,  everything  being  ransacked 
for  the  purpose — mythology,  history  and  geography 
— and  hence  the  peculiar  names  they  have  conferred 
in  some  cases  on  their  descendants.  In  1640  a 
robust  African  man  when  sold  commanded  2700 
pounds  of  tobacco,  and  a  female  2500  pounds,  aver- 
aging, at  the  then  price  of  tobacco,  about  seventeen 
pounds  sterling  for  the  men.  Prices  afterwards  ad- 
vanced to  forty  pounds  sterling  for  the  men.  In 
1699  all  newly  arrived  slaves  were  taxed  twenty 
shillings  per  head,  paid  by  the  master  of  the  vessel. 

As  the  colony  developed,  the  typical  dwelling  be- 
came a  framed  log  building  of  moderate  size,  with  a 
big  chimney  at  each  end,  there  being  no  cellar  and 
the  house  resting  on  the  ground.  The  upper  and 
lower  floors  were  each  divided  into  two  rooms.  Such 
a  house,  built  in  1679,  measuring  forty  by  twenty 
feet,  cost  twelve  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco.  Finally, 
when  more  prosperity  came  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  houses  were  developed  and  enlarged  into 
more  pretentious  edifices,  built  of  bricks  brought  out 
from  England.  These  were  the  great  colonial  houses 
of  the  wealthy  planters,  so  many  of  which  exist 
until  the  present  day.  The  most  prosperous  time  in 
colonial  Virginia  was  the  period  from  1710  until 
1770.     The  exports  of  tobacco  to  England  and  flour 


74     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  other  produce  to  the  West  Indies  made  the  for- 
tunes of  the  planters,  so  that  their  vast  estates  and 
large  retinues  of  slaves  made  them  the  lordly  barons 
whose  fame  spread  throughout  Europe,  while  their 
wealth  enabled  them  to  gather  all  the  luxuries  of  fur- 
niture and  ornament  for  their  houses  then  attainable. 
It  was  in  these  noble  colonial  mansions,  surrounded 
by  regiments  of  negro  servants,  that  the  courtly  Vir- 
ginians of  the  olden  time  dispensed  a  princely  hos- 
pitality, limited  only  by  their  ability  to  secure  what- 
ever the  world  produced.  The  stranger  was  always 
welcome  at  the  bountiful  board,  and  the  slave  children 
grew  up  amid  plenty,  hardly  knowing  what  work  was. 
This  Vent  on  with  more  or  less  variation  until  the 
Civil  War  made  its  tremendous  upheaval,  which 
scattered  both  whites  and  blacks.  But  the  typical 
Virginian  is  unchanged,  continuing  as  open-hearted 
and  hospitable,  though  his  means  now  are  much  less. 
To  all  he  has,  the  guest  is  welcome  ;  but  it  is  usually 
with  a  tinge  of  regret  that  he  recalls  the  good  old 
time  when  he  might  have  done  more. 

HAMPTON   ROADS  AND   FORTRESS  MONROE. 

The  constantly  broadening  estuary  of  the  James 
assumes  almost  the  proportions  of  an  inland  sea,  and 
in  the  bays  encircled  by  the  low  shores  are  planted 
the  seed  oysters,  which  are  gathered  by  fleets  of 
small  vessels  for  transplanting  into  salt-water  beds. 
In  front,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  is  thrust  out 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  FORTRESS  MONROE.      75 

the  long  point  of  Newport  News,  with  its  grain  ele- 
vators and  shipyards,  dry-docks  and  iron-works,  the 
great  port  of  the  James  River,  which  is  the  busy  ter- 
minal of  railways  coming  from  the  West.  Here  is  a 
town  of  thirty  thousand  people.  It  was  almost  op- 
posite, that  in  the  spring  of  1862  the  Confederate 
ram  "  Merrimac  H  (then  called  the  "  Virginia  "),  ar- 
mored with  railroad  rails,  came  suddenly  out  from 
Norfolk,  and  sank  or  disabled  the  American  wooden 
naval  vessels  in  Hampton  Roads ;  the  next  day, 
however,  being  unexpectedly  encountered  by  the 
novel  little  turret  iron-clad  "Monitor,"  which  had 
most  opportunely  arrived  from  the  upper  Hudson 
River,  where  Ericsson  had  built  her.  The  "  Merri- 
mac" was  herself  soon  disabled  and  compelled  to 
retire.  This  timely  and  dramatic  appearance  of 
"  the  little  Yankee  cheese-box  on  a  raft "  made  a 
sudden  and  unforeseen  revolution  in  all  the  naval 
methods  and  architecture  of  the  world.  Around  the 
point  of  Newport  News  the  James  River  debouches 
into  one  of  the  finest  harbors  of  the  Atlantic  Coast, 
Hampton  Roads,  named  from  the  town  of  Hampton 
on  the  northern  shore.  This  is  the  location  of  a 
Veteran  Soldiers'  Home,  with  two  thousand  inmates, 
an  extensive  Soldiers7  Cemetery,  and  of  the  spacious 
buildings  of  the  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute  for 
Negroes  and  Indians,  where  there  are  eight  to  nine 
hundred  scholars,  this  being  a  foundation  originally 
established  by  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  the  chief  ob- 


76     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ject  being  the  training  of  teachers  for  colored  and 
Indian  schools. 

The  little  peninsula  of  Old  Point  Comfort,  which 
makes  the  northern  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  James 
and  juts  out  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  has  upon  it  the 
largest  and  most  elaborate  fortification  in  the  United 
States — Fortress  Monroe.  It  is  related  that  when 
Newport  and  Smith  first  entered  the  bay  in  1607, 
and  were  desirous  of  ascending  the  James,  they 
coasted  along  the  southern  shore  and  found  only 
shallow  water.  Starting  out  in  a  boat  to  hunt  for  a 
channel  up  which  their  ships  could  pass,  they  rowed 
over  to  the  northern  shore  and  discovered  deeper 
water  entering  the  James,  close  to  this  little  peninsula, 
there  being  twelve  fathoms  depth, which  so  encouraged 
Smith  that  it  confirmed  him  in  naming  the  place 
Point  Comfort.  This  channel,  close  inshore,  could  be 
readily  defended,  as  it  was  the  only  passage  for  vessels 
of  any  draft,  and  consequently  when  the  colony  got 
established  at  Jamestown  they  built  Fort  Algernon  at 
Point  Comfort  to  protect  the  entrance  to  the  James. 
In  1611  this  fort  was  described  as  consisting  of  stock- 
ades and  posts,  without  stone  or  brick,  and  containing 
seven  small  iron  guns,  with  a  garrison  of  forty  men. 

After  the  British  invasion  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  in 
1814,  when  they  burnt  the  Capitol  and  White  House 
at  Washington,  it  was  quickly  decided  that  no  foreign 
foe  should  be  again  permitted  to  do  such  a  thing,  and 
that  an  elaborate  work  should  be  built  to  defend  the 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  FORTRESS  MONROE.      77 

entrance  to  the  bay.  General  Simon  Bernard,  one 
of  Napoleon's  noted  engineers,  offered  his  services  to 
the  United  States  after  the  downfall  of  the  Emperor, 
and  he. was  placed  in  charge,  with  the  duty  of  con- 
structing, at  the  mouth  of  James  River,  a  fortification 
which  would  command  the  channel  into  that  river 
and  to  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard,  and  at  the  same  time 
be  a  base  of  operations  against  any  fleet  attempting 
to  enter  the  bay  and  menace  the  roadstead.  Bernard 
built-in  1819,  and  several  following  years,  an  elabo- 
rate fortress,  with  a  broad  moat  and  outlying  water- 
battery,  enclosing  eighty  acres,  the  ramparts  being 
over  two  miles  in  circumference.  It  was  called  Fort- 
ress Monroe,  after  the  then  President  James  Monroe, 
of  Virginia.  Out  upon  an  artificial  island,  known  as 
the  Rip-raps,  built  upon  a  shoal  some  two  miles  off- 
shore, and  in  the  harbor  entrance,  the  smaller  works 
of  Fort  Wool  were  subsequently  constructed,  and  the 
two  make  a  complete  defense  for  the  Chesapeake  Bay- 
entrance.  During  all  the  years  this  fortress  has  ex- 
isted it  has  never  had  occasion  to  fire  a  gun  at  an 
enemy,  but  its  location  and  strength  were  invaluable 
to  the  North,  who  held  it  during  the  Civil  War.  It 
is  the  seat  of  the  Artillery  School  of  the  army.  To 
the  southward,  at  the  waterside,  are  the  hotels  of  Old 
Point  Comfort,  which  is  one  of  the  favorite  seaside 
watering-places  of  the  South.  In  front  is  the  great 
Hampton  roadstead,  usually  containing  fleets  of  wind- 
bound  vessels  and  some  men-of-war. 


78     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
NORFOLK  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Over  on  the  southern  side  of  Chesapeake  Bay  is 
the  Elizabeth  River,  in  reality  a  tidal  arm  of  the  sea, 
curving  around  from  the  south  to  the  east,  and  hav- 
ing Norfolk  on  its  northern  bank  and  Portsmouth  op- 
posite. The  country  round  about  is  flat  and  low- 
lying,  and  far  up  the  river  are  Gosport  and  the 
Navy  Yard,  the  largest  possessed  by  the  United 
States.  There  are  probably  sixty  thousand  popula- 
tion in  the  three  towns.  The  immediate  surround- 
ings are  good  land  and  mostly  market  gardens,  but 
to  the  southward  spreads  the  great  Dismal  Swamp, 
covering  about  sixteen  hundred  square  miles,  in- 
tersected by  various  canals,  and  yielding  cypress, 
juniper  and  other  timber.  It  is  partly  drained  by 
the  Nansemond  River,  on  which,  at  the  edge  of  the 
swamp,  is  the  little  town  of  Suffolk,  whence  the 
Jericho  Run  Canal  leads  into  Lake  Drummond,  a 
body  of  water  covering  eighteen  square  miles  and 
twenty-one  feet  above  tidewater.  Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe  has  woven  much  of  the  romance  of 
this  weird  fastness  and  swamp  into  her  tale  of  Dred. 
The  Dismal  Swamp  Canal,  twenty-two  miles  long, 
and  recently  enlarged  and  deepened,  passes  through 
it  from  Elizabeth  River  to  the  Pasquotank  River  of 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Albemarle  Canal  also  con- 
nects with  Currituck  Sound.  This  big  swamp  was 
first  explored  by  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westoveiy 


NORFOLK  AHD  ITS  NMGHBORHOOIX  79 

in  1728,  when  he  surveyed  the  boundary  between 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

All  about  the  Norfolk  wharves  are  cotton  bales, 
much  timber,  tobacco  and  naval  stores,  and  immense 
quantities  of  food  and  garden  products,  not  forget- 
ting a  profusion  of  "  goobers,"  all  awaiting  shipment, 
for  this,  next  to  Savannah,  is  the  greatest  export 
port  for  food  and  other  supplies  on  the  Southern  At- 
lantic. The  "goober,"  or  peanut,  is  the  special 
crop  of  this  part  of  Virginia  and  Carolina.  The 
cotton  compresses  do  a  lively  business  in  the  cotton 
season,  the  powerful  hydraulic  pressure  squeezing 
the  bale  to  barely  one-fourth  its  former  size,  and 
binding  it  firmly  with  iron  bands,  thus  giving  the 
steamers  increased  cargo.  In  the  spring  the  ship- 
ment North  of  early  fruits  and  vegetables  is  enor- 
mous, vast  surfaces  being  devoted  to  their  growth, 
the  strawberry  beds  especially  covering  many  acres. 
The  oyster  trade  is  also  large.  The  settlement  of 
Norfolk  began  in  1680,  and  in  1736  it  was  made  a 
borough.  Portsmouth  was  established  later,  but  the 
starting  of  the  navy  yard  there,  which  has  become 
so  extensive,  gave  it  great  impetus.  Portsmouth 
claims  that  in  the  Civil  War,  in  proportion  to  size,  it 
sent  more  soldiers  to  the  Southern  armies  and  had 
more  dead  than  any  other  city.  The  capacious  naval 
hospital  and  its  fine  grove  of  trees  front  Portsmouth 
towards  the  harbor.  Norfolk  has  St.  Paul's  Church, 
founded  in  1730,  as  its  chief  Revolutionary  relic — an 


80     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ancient  building,  with  an  old  graveyard,  and  having 
in  its  steeple  the  indentation  made  by  a  cannon-shot, 
when  a  British  fleet  in  1776  bombarded  and  partly 
burnt  the  town.  An  old-fashioned  round  ball  rests 
in  the  orifice ;  not,  however,  the  one  originally  sent 
there  by  the  cannoneers.  Eelic-hunters  visiting  the 
place  have  a  habit  of  clandestinely  appropriating  the 
cannon-ball,  so  the  sexton,  with  an  eye  to  business, 
has  some  on  hand  ready  to  put  into  the  cavity,  and 
thus  maintain  the  old  church's  patriotic  reputation. 
A  novel  sight  in  Norfolk  is  its  market,  largely  served 
by  negroes — old  (f  mammies  "  with  bright  bandannas 
tied  about  their  heads  and  guarding  piles  of  luscious 
fruits ;  funny  little  pickaninnies  who  execute  all  man- 
ner of  athletic  gyrations  for  stray  pennies,  queer  old 
market  wagons,  profusions  of  flowers,  and  such  a  col- 
lection of  the  good  things  of  life,  all  set  in  a  picture 
so  attractive  that  the  sight  is  long  remembered. 

THE    EASTERN    SHORE. 

Northward  from  Old  Point  Comfort  and  Hampton 
Roads  the  great  Chesapeake  Bay  stretches  for  two 
hundred  miles.  It  bisects  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
and  receives  the  rivers  of  both  States,  extending 
within  fourteen  miles  of  Pennsylvania,  where  it  has 
as  its  head  the  greatest  river  of  all,  the  Susquehanna, 
which  the  Indians  appropriately  called  their  "  great 
island  river."  Its  shores  enclose  many  islands,  and 
are  indented  with  innumerable  bays  and  inlets,  the 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE.  81 

alluvial  soils  being  readily  adapted  to  fruit  and  vege- 
table growing,  and  its  multitudes  of  shallows  being 
almost  throughout  a  vast  oyster  bed.  It  has,  all 
about,  the  haunts  of  wild  fowl  and  the  nestling-places 
of  delicious  fish.  These  shores  were  the  home — 
first  on  the  eastern  side  and  afterwards  on  the 
western — of  the  Nanticokes,  or  u  tidewater  Indians,* 
who  ultimately  migrated  to  New  York  to  join  the 
Iroquois  or  Five  Nations,  making  that  Confederacy 
the  "  Six  Nations."  From  Cape  Charles,  guarding 
the  northern  entrance  to  the  Bay,  extends  northward 
the  well-known  peninsula  of  the  "  Eastern  Shore,"  a 
land  of  market  gardens,  strawberries  and  peaches, 
which  feeds  the  Northern  cities,  and  having  its  rail- 
road, a  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  system,  running  for 
miles  over  the  level  surface  in  a  flat  country,  which 
enabled  the  builders  to  lay  a  mathematically  straight 
pair  of  rails  for  nearly  ninety  miles,  said  to  be  the 
longest  railway  tangent  in  existence. 

Chesapeake  Bay  is  now  patrolled  by  the  oyster 
fleets  of  both  Virginia  and  Maryland,  each  State 
having  an  "  oyster  navy "  to  protect  its  beds  from 
predatory  forays ;  and  occasionally  there  arises  an 
"  oyster  war "  which  expands  to  the  dignity  of  a 
newspaper  sensation,  and  sometimes  results  in  blood- 
shed. The  wasteful  methods  of  oyster-dredging  are 
said  to  be  destroying  the  beds,  and  they  are  much 
less  valuable  than  formerly,  although  measures  are 
being  projected  for  their  protection  and  restoration 


82     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

under  Government  auspices.  We  are  told  that  a 
band  of  famished  colonists  who  went  in  the  early 
days  to  beg  corn  from  the  Indians  first  discovered 
the  value  of  the  oyster.  The  Indians  were  roasting 
what  looked  like  stones  in  their  fire,  and  invited  the 
hungry  colonists  to  partake.  The  opened  shells  dis- 
closed the  succulent  bivalve,  and  the  white  men 
found  there  was  other  good  food  besides  corn.  All 
the  sites  of  extinct  Indian  villages  along  the  Chesa- 
peake were  marked  by  piles  of  oyster  shells,  show- 
ing they  had  been  eaten  from  time  immemorial. 

The  English  colonists  at  Jamestown  were  told  by 
the  Indians  of  the  wonders  of  the  "Mother  of 
Waters,"  as  they  called  Chesapeake  Bay,  about  the 
many  great  rivers  pouring  into  it,  the  various  tribes 
on  its  shores,  and  the  large  fur  trade  that  could  be 
opened  with  them ;  so  that  the  colonists  gradually 
came  to  the  opinion  that  the  upper  region  of  the 
great  bay  was  the  choicest  part  of  their  province. 
Smith  explored  it  and  made  a  map  in  1609,  and 
others  followed  him,  setting  up  trading-stations  upon 
the  rivers  as  far  as  the  Potomac  and  the  Patuxent. 
Soon  this  new  country  and  its  fur  trade  attracted  the 
cupidity  of  William  Claiborne,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed Treasurer  of  Virginia,  and  was  sent  out 
when  King  James  I.  made  it  a  royal  province,  the 
king  telling  them  they  would  find  Claiborne  "  a  per- 
son of  qualitie  and  trust."  He  was  also  agent  for  a 
London  Company  the  king  had  chartered  to  make 


CALVERT  AND  MARYLAND.  88 

discoveries  and  engage  in  the  fur  trade.  Claiborne, 
in  1631,  established  a  settlement  on  Kent  Island,  the 
largest  in  the  bay,  about  opposite  Annapolis,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  north  of  the  James,  which 
thrived  as  a  trading  station  and  next  year  sent  its 
burgesses  to  the  Assembly  at  Jamestown. 

CALVERT   AND    MARYLAND. 

Sir  George  Calvert,  who  had  been  private  secre- 
tary to  Lord  Cecil  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  and 
also  held  office  under  King  James,  upon  retiring  was 
created  Baron  of  Baltimore  in  Ireland,  and  purchased 
part  of  Newfoundland,  which  he  called  Avalon.  He 
sent  out  a  colony  and  afterwards  visited  Avalon ;  but, 
being  discouraged  by  the  cold  climate,  he  abandoned 
the  colony,  and  persuaded  the  next  king,  Charles  I., 
to  give  him  land  on  both  sides  of  Chesapeake  Bay 
north  of  the  Potomac.  Before  the  deed  was  signed, 
however,  Baron  Baltimore  died,  and  his  son,  Cecilius 
Calvert,  succeeded  him  and  received  the  grant.  This 
was  one  of  the  greatest  gifts  of  land  ever  made,  ex- 
tending northward  from  the  Potomac  River,  includ- 
ing all  Maryland,  a  broad  strip  of  what  is  now  Penn- 
sylvania, all  of  Delaware,  and  a  good  deal  of  West 
Virginia.  The  charter  made  the  grant  a  Palatinate, 
giving  Lord  Baltimore  and  his  heirs  absolute  control 
of  the  country,  freedom  to  trade  with  the  whole 
world  and  make  his  own  laws,  or  allow  his  colonists 
to  do  this.     The  price  was  the  delivery  of  two  In- 


84     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

dian  arrows  a  year  at  the  Castle  of  Windsor,  and 
one-fifth  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  found.  This  grant 
was  dated  on  June  20,  1632,  and  the  name  first  in- 
tended by  Calvert  for  his  colony  was  Crescentia; 
but  in  the  charter  it  was  styled  Terra  Marice,  after 
Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  or  "Mary's  Land."  The 
expedition  came  out  the  following  winter,  leaving  the 
Isle  of  Wight  in  November  in  two  vessels,  named 
the  "Ark"  and  the  "Dove/7  under  command  of 
Leonard  Calvert,  Cecil's  brother,  there  being  two 
hundred  emigrants,  nearly  all  Roman  Catholics,  like 
their  chief,  and  mostly  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  re- 
spectability. While  the  colony  was  Catholic,  Cecil 
Calvert  inculcated  complete  toleration.  In  his  letter 
of  instructions  he  wrote  :  u  Preserve  unity  and  peace 
on  shipboard  amongst  all  passengers ;  and  suffer  no 
offence  to  be  given  to  any  of  the  Protestants ;  for 
this  end  cause  all  acts  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
to  be  done  as  privately  as  may  be  f  and  he  also  told 
his  brother,  the  Governor,  "  to  treat  all  Protestants 
with  as  much  mildness  and  favor  as  justice  would 
permit,"  this  to  be  observed  "  at  land  as  well  as  at 
sea."  In  March,  1633,  they  entered  the  Chesapeake 
and  sailed  up  to  the  Potomac  River,  landing  at  an 
island  and  setting  up  a  cross,  claiming  the  country 
for  Christ  and  for  England. 

The  "  Ark  "  anchored,  and  the  smaller  u  Dove " 
was  sent  cruising  along  the  shore  of  the  Potomac 
above  Point  Lookout,  "to  make  choice  of  a  place 


CALVERT  AND  MARYLAND.  85 

probable  to  be  healthfull  and  fruitfull,"  which  might 
be  easily  fortified,  and  "  convenient  for  trade  both 
with  the  English  and  savages."  The  little  "Dove" 
sailed  some  distance  up  the  Potomac,  examining  the 
shore,  and  encountered  various  Indians,  who  were 
astonished  when  they  saw  the  vessel,  diminutive,  yet 
so  much  larger  than  their  canoes,  and  said  they  would 
like  to  see  the  tree  from  which  that  great  canoe  was 
hollowed  out,  for  they  knew  nothing  of  the  method 
of  construction.  The  colonists  talked  with  the  In- 
dians, having  an  interpreter,  and  Leonard  Calvert 
asked  a  chief:  "Shall  we  stay  here,  or  shall  we  go 
back.?"  To  this  a  mysterious  answer  was  made: 
"  You  may  do  as  you  think  best."  Calvert  did  not 
like  this,  and  decided  to  land  nearer  the  bay,  so  his 
vessel  dropped  down  the  river  again,  and  they  finally 
landed  on  a  stream  where  they  found  the  Indian  vil- 
lage of  Yoacamoco.  The  Indians  were  very  friendly, 
sold  part  of  their  village  for  some  axes  and  bright 
cloth,  gave  up  their  best  wigwams  to  Calvert  and  his 
colonists,  and  in  one  of  these  the  Jesuit  fathers  held 
a  solemn  service,  dedicating  the  settlement  to  St. 
Mary ;  and  thus  was  founded  the  capital  of  the  new 
Palatinate  of  Maryland.  Under  Calvert's  wise  rule 
the  colony  prospered,  kept  up  friendliness  with  the 
Indians,  enjoyed  a  lucrative  trade,  and,  after  a  long 
struggle,  ultimately  managed  to  make  Claiborne 
abandon  the  settlement  on  Kent  Island,  which  be- 
came part  of  Maryland.     To  the  northward  of  them 


86     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

was  the  estuary  of  the  Patuxent  River,  meaning 
u  the  stream  at  the  little  falls."  St.  Mary's  County 
is  the  peninsula  between  the  Patuxent  and  the  Poto- 
mac, terminating  at  Point  Lookout,  and  a  quiet  and 
restful  farming  country  to-day.  Leonardstown,  on 
the  Patuxent,  named  after  Leonard  Calvert,  is  the 
county-seat ;  but  the  ancient  village  of  St.  Mary's, 
the  original  colony  and  capital,  afterwards  superseded 
by  Annapolis,  still  exists,  though  only  a  few  scattered 
bricks  remain  to  mark  the  site  of  the  old  fort  and 
town.  At  St.  Inigoe's  is  the  quaint  colonial  home 
of  the  Jesuit  fathers  who  accompanied  Calvert,  and 
its  especial  pride  is  a  sweet-toned  bell,  brought  out 
from  England  in  1685,  which  still  rings  the  Angelus. 
At  Kent  Island  scarcely  a  vestige  remains  of  Clai- 
borne's trading-post  and  settlement. 

THE   MARYLAND    CAPITAL. 

The  settlers  of  Maryland  were  not  all  Roman 
Catholics,  however,  for  Puritan  refugees  came  in 
there.  Above  the  Patuxent  is  the  estuary  of  the 
Severn  River,  and  here,  in  a  beautiful  situation,  is 
Annapolis,  the  capital  of  Maryland,  which  has  about 
eight  thousand  inhabitants,  and  was  originally  colon- 
ized in  1649  by  Puritans  driven  from  the  James 
River  in  Virginia  by  the  Episcopalians  in  control 
there.  The  settlement  was  at  first  called  Provi- 
dence, and  Richard  Preston,  the  eminent  Quaker, 
was  long  its  commander.     Afterwards  it  was  named 


THE  MARYLAND  CAPITAL.  87 

Anne  Arundel  Town,  after  Lady  Baltimore,  which 
still  is  the  name  of  its  county,  although  the  town 
came  to  be  finally  known  as  Annapolis,  from  Queen 
Anne,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
who  gave  it  valuable  presents.  It  is  now  best  known 
as  the  seat  of  the  United  States  Naval  Academy, 
which  has  a  fine  establishment  there,  founded  by 
George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  when  he  was  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  in  1845.  Its  ancient  defensive 
work,  Fort  Severn,  has  been  roofed  over,  and  is  the 
Academy  gymnasium.  The  city  was  made  the  capi- 
tal of  Maryland  in  1794,  the  government  being  then 
removed  from  St.  Mary's,  and  the  State  Capitol  is  a 
massive  brick  structure,  standing  on  an  eminence, 
with  a  lofty  dome  and  cupola,  from  which  there  is  a 
fine  view  of  the  surrounding  country  and  over  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  In  the  Senate  Chamber  General  Wash- 
ington surrendered  his  Commission  to  the  American 
Colonial  Congress  which  met  there  in  December, 
1783,  and  in  it  also  assembled  the  first  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  the  United  States,  in  1786. 
In  front  of  the  building  is  a  colossal  statue  of 
Chief  Justice  Taney,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  a  native  of  Maryland,  who  died  in 
1864.  Annapolis  formerly  had  an  extensive  com- 
merce and  amassed  much  wealth,  until  eclipsed  by 
the  growth  of  Baltimore,  and  now  its  chief  trade, 
like  so  many  of  the  towns  of  the  Chesapeake,  is 
In  oysters. 


88     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE  MONUMENTAL   CITY. 

The  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  on  either  side  of  the 
Susquehanna  River,  is  composed  of  various  broad 
estuaries,  with  small  streams  entering  them.  To  the 
eastward  the  chief  is  Elk  River,  and  to  the  westward 
are  the  Gunpowder  and  Bush  Rivers,  with  others. 
Not  far  above  the  Severn  is  the  wide  tidal  estuary 
of  the  Patapsco,  so  named  by  the  Indians  to  describe 
its  peculiarity,  the  word  meaning  "  a  stream  caused 
by  back  or  tidewater  containing  froth."  A  few  miles 
up  this  estuary  is  the  great  city  and  port  of  the 
Chesapeake,  Baltimore,  so  named  in  honor  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  containing,  with  its  suburbs,  over  six 
hundred  thousand  people.  The  spreading  arms  of 
the  Patapsco,  around  which  the  city  is  built,  provide 
an  ample  harbor,  their  irregular  shores  making  plenty 
of  dock  room,  and  the  two  great  railways  from  the 
north  and  west  to  Washington,  which  go  under  the 
town  through  an  elaborate  system  of  tunnels,  give  it 
a  lucrative  foreign  trade  in  produce  brought  for  ship- 
ment abroad.  From  the  harbor  there  are  long  and 
narrow  docks,  and  an  inner  "  Basin  "  extending  into 
the  city,  and  across  the  heads  of  these  is  Pratt  Street. 
This  highway  is  famous  as  the  scene  of  the  first 
bloodshed  of  the  Civil  War.  The  Northern  troops, 
hastily  summoned  to  Washington,  were  marching 
along  it  from  one  railway  station  to  the  other  on 
April  19,  1861,  when  a  Baltimore  mob,  sympathizing 


THE  MONUMENTAL  CITY.  89 

with  the  South,  attacked  them.  In  the  riot  and  con- 
flict that  followed  eleven  were  killed  and  twenty-six 
were  wounded.  A  creek,  called  Jones's  Falls,  com- 
ing down  a  deep  valley  from  the  northward  into  the 
harbor,  divides  the  city  into  two  almost  equal  sec- 
tions, and  in  the  lower  part  is  walled  in,  with  a  street 
on  either  side.  Colonel  David  Jones,  who  was  the 
original  white  inhabitant  of  the  north  side  of  Balti- 
more harbor,  gave  this  stream  his  name  about  1680, 
before  anyone  expected  even  a  village  to  be  located 
there.  A  settlement  afterwards  began  eastward  of 
the  creek,  known  as  Jonestown,  while  Baltimore  was 
not  started  until  1730,  being  laid  out  westward  of 
the  creek  and  around  the  head  of  the  u  Basin,"  the 
plan  covering  sixty  acres.  This  was  called  New 
Town,  as  the  other  was  popularly  termed  Old  Town, 
but  they  subsequently  were  united  as  Baltimore, 
having  in  1752  about  two  hundred  people. 

Baltimore  is  rectangular  in  plan  and  picturesque, 
covering  an  undulating  surface,  the  hills,  which  are 
many,  inclining  either  to  Jones's  Falls  or  the  harbor. 
Its  popular  title  is  the  "Monumental  City,"  given 
because  it  was  the  first  American  city  that  built  fine 
monuments.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  State  of  Maryland  erected  on  Charles 
Street  a  monument  to  General  Washington,  rising 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet,  a  Doric  shaft  of 
white  marble  surmounted  by  his  statue  and  upon  a 
base   fifty  feet  square       This   splendid   monument 


90     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Stands  in  a  broadened  avenue  and  at  the  summit  of 
a  hill,  surrounded  by  tasteful  lawns  and  flower  gar- 
dens, with  a  fountain  in  front.  It  makes  an  attrac- 
tive centre  for  Mount  Vernon  Place,  which  contains 
one  of  the  finest  collections  of  buildings  in  the  city, 
and  presents  a  scene  essentially  Parisian.  Here  are 
the  Peabody  Institute  and  the  Garrett  Mansion,  both 
impressive  buildings.  Baltimore  has  a  "Battle 
Monument,"  located  on  Calvert  Street,  in  Monument 
Square,  a  marble  shaft  fifty-three  feet  high,  marking 
the  British  invasion  of  1814,  and  erected  in  memory 
of  the  men  of  Baltimore  who  fell  in  battle  just  outside 
the  city,  when  the  British  forces  marched  from  Elk 
Kiver  to  Washington  and  burnt  the  Capitol,  and  the 
British  fleet  came  up  the  Patapsco  and  shelled  the 
town.  The  city  also  has  other  fine  monuments,  so 
that  its  popular  name  is  well  deserved. 

The  City  Hall  is  the  chief  building  of  Baltimore,  a 
marble  structure  in  Renaissance,  costing  $2,000,000, 
its  elaborate  dome  rising  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet, 
and  giving  a  magnificent  view  over  the  city  and 
harbor.  There  are  two  noted  churches,  the  Mount 
Vernon  Methodist  Church,  of  greenstone,  with  buff 
and  red  facings  and  polished  granite  columns,  being 
the  finest,  although  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
nearby,  is  regarded  as  the  most  elaborate  specimen 
of  Lancet-Gothic  architecture  in  the  country,  its  spire 
rising  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral  is  an  attractive  granite  church, 


THE  MONUMENTAL  CITY.  91 

containing  paintings  presented  by  Louis  XVI.  and 
Charles  X.  of  France.  Cardinal  Archbishop  Gib- 
bons, of  Baltimore,  is  the  Roman  Catholic  Primate 
of  the  United  States.  The  greatest  charities  of  the 
city  are  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  and  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  endowed  by  a  Baltimore  mer- 
chant who  died  in  1873,  the  joint  endowments  being 
$6,500,000.  Hopkins  was  shrewd  and  penurious, 
and  John  W.  Garrett  persuaded  him  to  make  these 
princely  endowments,  much  of  his  fortune  being  in- 
vested in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  of  which 
Garrett  was  President  in  its  days  of  greatest  pros- 
perity. This  railroad  is  the  chief  Baltimore  institu- 
tion, giving  it  a  direct  route  to  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, and  was  the  first  started  of  the  great  American 
trunk  railways,  its  origin  dating  from  1826,  when 
the  movement  began  for  its  charter,  which  was 
granted  by  the  Maryland  Legislature  the  next  year. 
This  charter  conferred  most  comprehensive  powers, 
and  the  story  is  told  that  when  it  was  being  read  in 
that  body  one  of  the  members  interrupted,  saying : 
u  Stop,  man,  you  are  asking  more  than  the  Lord's 
Prayer."  The  reply  was  that  it  was  all  necessary, 
and  the  more  asked,  the  more  would  be  secured. 
The  interrupter,  convinced,  responded :  u  Right, 
man ;  go  on."  The  corner-stone  of  the  railway  was 
laid  July  4,  1828,  beginning  the  route  from  Balti- 
more, up  the  Potomac  and  through  the  Alleghenies 
to  the  Ohio  River. 
Vol.  1-5 


92     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


Baltimore  is  proud  of  the  great  art  collection  of 
Henry  Walters  in  Mount  Vernon  Place,  exhibited 
for  a  fee  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor ;  and  it  also  has 
had  as  a  noted  resident  Jerome  Bonaparte,  brother 
of  Napoleon,  who  married,  and  then  discarded  by 
Napoleon's  order,  Miss  Patterson,  a  Baltimore  lady. 
Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  has  remarked  that  three 
short  American  poems,  each  the  best  of  its  kind, 
were  written  in  Baltimore :  Poe's  Baven,  Randall's 
Maryland,  My  Maryland,  and  Key's  Star-Spangled 
Banner.  It  is  also  proud  of  its  park — "  Druid  Hill n 
— a  splendid  pleasure-ground  of  seven  hundred  acres, 
owing  much  of  its  beauty  to  the  fact  that  it  had  been 
preserved  and  developed  as  a  private  park  for  a 
century  before  passing  under  control  of  the  city. 
The  route  to  it  is  by  the  magnificent  Eutaw  Place, 
and  the  stately  entrance  gateway  opens  upon  an 
avenue  lined  on  either  hand  by  long  rows  of  flower 
vases  on  high  pedestals,  laid  out  alongside  Druid 
Lake,  the  chief  water-reservoir.  The  Park  has  an 
undulating  surface  of  woodland  and  meadow,  with 
grand  old  trees  and  splendid  lawns,  making  a  scene 
decidedly  English,  not  overwrought  by  art,  but 
mainly  left  in  its  natural  condition.  The  mansion- 
house  of  the  former  owner,  now  a  restaurant,  occu- 
pies a  commanding  position,  and  on  the  northern 
side  the  land  rises  to  Prospect  Hill,  with  an  expan- 


»  c 


DEUID  HILL  AND  FOET  M'HENRY.  93 

sive  view  all  around  the  horizon  and  eastward  to 
Chesapeake  Bay. 

In  this  beautiful  park  the  higher  grounds  are  used 
for  water-reservoirs.  Baltimore  has  the  advantage 
of  receiving  its  supply  by  gravity  from  the  Gun- 
powder Eiver  to  the  northward,  where  a  lake  has 
been  formed,  the  pure  water  being  brought  through 
a  tunnel  for  seven  miles  to  the  reservoirs,  of  which 
there  are  eight,  with  a  capacity  of  2,275,000,000 
gallons,  and  capable  of  supplying  300,000,000  gal- 
lons daily.  These  reservoirs  appear  as  pleasant 
lakes,  Montebello  and  Roland,  with  Druid  Lake, 
being  the  chief.  Across  the  ravine  of  Jones's  Falls 
is  Baltimore's  chief  cemetery,  Greenmount,  a  pretty 
ground,  with  gentle  hills  and  vales.  Here,  in  a  spot 
selected  by  herself,  is  buried  Jerome's  discarded 
wife,  Madame  Patterson-Bonaparte,  whose  check- 
ered history  is  Baltimore's  chief  romance.  Here 
also  lie  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  the  tragedian,  and  his 
family,  among  them  John  Wilkes  Booth,  who  mur- 
dered President  Lincoln. 

The  most  significant  sight  of  Baltimore,  however, 
is  its  old  Fort  McHenry — down  in  the  harbor,  on  the 
extreme  end  of  Locust  Point,  originally  called  Whet- 
stone Point,  where  the  Patapsco  River  divides — built 
on  a  low-lying  esplanade,  with  green  banks  sloping 
almost  to  the  water.  It  was  the  strategic  position  of 
this  small  but  strong  work,  thoroughly  controlling  the 
city  as  well  as  the  harbor  entrance,  that  held  Balti- 


94     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

more  during  the  early  movements  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  maintained  the  road  from  the  North  to  Washing- 
ton. Its  greatest  memory,  however,  and,  by  the  as- 
sociation, probably  the  greatest  celebrity  Baltimore 
enjoys,  comes  from  the  flag  on  the  staff  now  quietly 
waving  over  its  parapets.  Whetstone  Point  had 
been  fortified  during  the  Revolution,  but  in  1794 
Maryland  ceded  it  to  the  United  States,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  Baltimore  raised  the  money  to  build  the  pres- 
ent fort,  which  was  named  after  James  McHenry, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  framers  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution and  was  Secretary  of  War  under  President 
Washington.  When  Admiral  Cockburn's  British 
fleet  came  up  the  Chesapeake  in  September,  1814, 
the  Maryland  poet,  Francis  Scott  Key,  was  an  aid  to 
General  Smith  at  Bladensburg.  An  intimate  friend 
had  been  taken  prisoner  on  board  one  of  the  ships, 
and  Key  was  sent  in  a  boat  to  effect  his  release  by 
exchange.  The  Admiral  told  Key  he  would  have  to 
detain  him  aboard  for  a  day  or  two,  as  they  were 
proceeding  to  attack  Baltimore.  Thus  Key  re- 
mained among  the  enemy,  an  unwilling  witness  of 
the  bombardment  on  September  12th,  which  con- 
tinued throughout  the  night.  In  the  early  morning 
the  attack  was  abandoned,  the  flag  was  unharmed, 
and  the  British  ships  dropped  down  the  Patapsco. 

Key  wrote  his  poem  on  the  backs  of  letters,  with 
a  barrel-head  for  a  desk,  and  being  landed  next 
day  he  showed  it  to  friends,  and  then  made  a  fresh 


DEFENCE  OF  FOBT  M'HENRY.  95 

copy.  It  was  taken  to  the  office  of  the  Baltimore 
American  and  published  anonymously  in  a  handbill, 
afterwards  appearing  in  the  issue  of  that  newspaper 
on  September  21,  1814.  The  tune  was  "  Anacreon 
in  Heaven,"  and  there  was  a  brief  introduction  de- 
scribing the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written. 
It  was  first  sung  in  the  Baltimore  Theatre,  October 
12th  of  that  year,  and  afterwards  became  popular. 
The  flag  which  floated  over  Fort  McHenry  on  that 
memorable  night  is  still  preserved.  Fired  by  patri- 
otic impulses,  various  ladies  of  Baltimore  had  made 
this  flag,  among  them  being  Mrs.  Mary  Pickersgill, 
who  is  described  as  a  daughter  of  Betsy  Ross,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  made  the  original  sample-flag  dur- 
ing the  Revolution.  The  Fort  McHenry  flag  con- 
tains about  four  hundred  yards  of  bunting  and  is 
nearly  square,  measuring  twenty-nine  by  thirty-two 
feet.  It  has  fifteen  stars  and  fifteen  stripes,  which 
was  then  the  official  regulation,  there  being  fifteen 
States  in  the  American  Union.  The  poem  of  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner,  thus  inspired  and  written,  has  become 
the  great  American  patriotic  anthem,  and  has  carried 
everywhere  the  fame  of  the  fort,  the  city,  and  the 
flowery  flag  of  the  United  States.  The  following  is  the 
song,  with  title  and  introduction,  as  first  published : 

DEFENCE   OF  FORT   MCHENRY. 

Tune — M  Anacreon  in  Heaven." 
O  !  say  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming, 


96     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through  the  perilous  fight, 

O'er  the  ramparts  we  watch' d,  were  so  gallantly  streaming? 
And  the  Rockets'  red  glare,  the  Bombs  bursting  in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  Flag  was  still  there ; 
O !  say  does  that  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ? 

On  the  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 
Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  dread  silence  reposes ; 

What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o'er  the  towering  steep, 
As  it  fitfully  glows,  half  conceals,  half  discloses  ? 

Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning's  first  beam, 

In  full  glory  reflected  now  shines  in  the  stream. 
'Tis  the  star-spangled  banner,  O  !  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 

And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vauntingly  swore 
That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle's  confusion, 

A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  ? 
Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  steps  pollution. 

No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave 

From  the  terror  of  flight  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave, 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ! 

O !  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  lov'd  homes  and  the  war's  desolation, 

Blest  with  vict'ry  and  peace,  may  the  Heav'n  rescued  land, 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  preser v'  d  us  a  nation  t 

Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just, 

And  this  is  our  motto  :  u  In  God  is  our  Trust." 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 


THE  GREAT  THEATRE  OF  THE 
CIVIL  WAR. 


II. 

THE  GKEAT  THEATRE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

On  to  Richmond— Horace  Greeley's  Editorial  Standard — The 
Conflict's  Ebb  and  Flow— The  Two  Battles  of  Bull  Run- 
Arlington — Manassas — McDowell  against  Beauregard — Lee 
and  Jackson  against  Pope — Antietam — The  Emancipation 
Proclamation — Fredericksburg — Burnside  against  Lee — Chan- 
cellorsville — Lee  and  Jackson  against  Hooker — Death  of 
Stonewall  Jackson — Guinney  Station — The  Wilderness — Mine 
Run— Grant's  Southern  March— Battles  of  the  Wilderness — 
Spottsylvania — Hanover  Court-House— Ashland — Richmond 
— The  Capitol — Washington's  Statues— Stonewall  Jackson's 
Statue — Confederate  White  House — General  Lee's  House — 
The  First  House— St.  John' s  Church— Patrick  Henry— Libby 
Hill  and  Prison— Belle  Isle— Rocketts— Hollywood  Cemetery 
—Noted  Graves— McClellan's  Siege  of  Richmond— Drewry's 
Bluff — Chickahominy  Swamps — Fair  Oaks — Seven  Days'  Bat- 
tles—Gaines'  Mill— Cold  Harbor— Malvern  Hill — Harrison's 
Landing — Grant's  Siege  of  Richmond — Second  Battle  of  Cold 
Harbor— Bermuda  Hundred — Petersburg — Capture  of  Rich- 
mond— Kilpatrick'  s  Raid — Piedmont — Charlottesville — Uni- 
versity of  Virginia — Monticello — Thomas  Jefferson — Shen- 
andoah Valley  —  Cross  Keys  —  Jackson's  Exploits — Cedar 
Mountain  —  General  Sheridan  —  Cedar  Creek  —  Sheridan 
against  Early— Luray  Cavern— Battlefield  of  Gettysburg — 
Lee  Marches  into  Pennsylvania — Hooker  Resigns — Meade 
against  Lee — Gettysburg  Topography — Seminary  Ridge — 
•  Cemetery  Ridge — The  Round  Tops — Confederate  Advance  to 
Carlisle  and  the  Susquehanna — Three  Days'  Battle — Rey- 
nolds Killed— The  Round  Tops  Attacked— General  Sickles 
Wounded  in  Peach  Orchard— Ewell  Repulsed  at  Cemetery — 
Pickett's  Charge  and  Repulse — Cushing  and  A rmistead  Killed 
—High- Water  Mark  Monument— Lee  Retreats— Gettysburg 

(99) 


100     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

Monuments— Jenny  Wade — National  Cemetery — Lincoln's 
Immortal  Dedication — Valley  of  Death — Massachusetts  Color- 
Bearer — The  Reunited  Union. 

ON   TO    RICHMOND. 

Lay  down  the  Axe  ;  fling  by  the  spade  : 

Leave  in  its  track  the  toiling  plough  ; 
The  rifle  and  the  bayonet  blade 

For  arms  like  yours  were  fitter  now  ; 
And  let  the  hands  that  ply  the  pen 

Quit  the  light  task,  and  learn  to  wield 
The  horseman's  crooked  brand,  and  rein 

The  charger  on  the  battlefield. 

Thus  trumpeted  William  Cullen  Bryant  in  ft  Our 
Country's  Call,"  while  the  most  powerful  American 
editor  of  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  Horace  Greeley, 
raised  his  standard  at  the  head  of  the  New  York 
Tribune's  editorial  page  early  in  1861  with  the  words 
u  On  to  Richmond."  The  region  between  Washing- 
ton and  Richmond,  and  much  of  the  adjacent  coun- 
try stretching  southward  beyond  James  River  and 
northward  into  Pennsylvania,  will  always  be  historic 
because  of  the  momentous  movements,  sanguinary 
conflicts  and  wonderful  strategy  of  the  great  Ameri- 
can Civil  War  from  1861  to  1865.  We  have  de- 
scribed the  environment  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 
now  proceed  to  a  consideration  of  this  noted  region 
west  of  the  bay,  where  the  tide  of  battle  repeatedly 
ebbed  and  flowed.  The  first  northern  invasion  of 
the  Virginia  Peninsula  and  the  abortive  siege  of 
Richmond  in  the  summer  of  1862  were  followed  bv 


THE  TWO  BATTLES  OF  BULL  R'tf^.*         101 

McClelland  retreat,  Pope's  defeat  and  ,t]he  southern, 
invasion  of  Maryland,  which  was  checked  at  Antier '-, 
tarn  in  the  autumn.  The  northern  attacks  at  Fred- 
ericksburg in  December  and  at  Chancellors ville  in 
the  spring  of  1863  were  followed  by  the  invasion  of 
Pennsylvania,  checked  at  Gettysburg,  the  "high- 
water  mark "  of  the  rebellion  j  and  Grant's  march 
down  through  "  the  Wilderness "  in  1864,  followed 
by  his  gradual  advances  south  of  the  James,  forced 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  and  Lee's  final  sur- 
render at  Appomattox  in  1865. 

THE   TWO   BATTLES   OF   BULL   RUN. 

The  main  route  from  Washington  to  the  South 
crossed  the  Potomac,  then  as  now,  by  the  "Long 
Bridge,"  passing  in  full  view  of  the  yellow  Arlington 
House,  fronted  by  its  columned  porch.  This  historic 
building  was  the  home  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee  in 
his  early  life,  the  chief  Confederate  Commander 
during  the  Civil  War.  The  estate  is  now  a  vast 
cemetery,  and  upon  it  and  all  about  to  the  westward 
are  the  remains  of  the  forts  and  earthworks  erected 
for  the  defence  of  Washington.  After  the  war 
began,  in  April,  1861,  the  Northern  troops  were 
gradually  assembled  in  and  around  Washington ;  but 
there  came  an  imperative  demand  from  the  country 
that  they  should  go  forth  and  give  the  Confederates 
battle  and  capture  Richmond  before  their  Congress 
could  meet,  the  opening  of  the  session  being  fixed 


102     AMERICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

for  July  20th".  The  Southern  armies  were  entrenched 
at  Manassas  Junction,  west  of  Washington,  and  at 
Winchester  to  the  northwest,  and  they  were  making 
forays  almost  in  sight  of  Washington.  General 
McDowell,  with  nearly  forty  thousand  men,  marched 
out  of  the  Washington  fortifications  on  July  17th  to 
attack  General  Beauregard  at  Manassas.  The  Con- 
federates brought  their  Winchester  army  hastily 
down,  and  took  position  along  the  banks  of  Bull 
Run,  a  tributary  of  the  Occoquan,  their  lines  stretch- 
ing for  about  eight  miles.  McDowell  attacked  on 
the  morning  of  the  21st,  each  side  having  about 
twenty-eight  thousand  available  men.  The  conflict 
lasted  with  varying  success  most  of  the  day,  McDowell 
being  finally  beaten  and  retreating  to  Washington. 

Thirteen  months  later,  after  McClellan's  retreat 
from  Richmond,  was  fought  in  almost  the  same  place, 
on  August  29  and  30,  1862,  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Run.  General  Pope  had  a  considerable  force  in 
Northern  Virginia,  and  when  McClellan,  whom  Pope 
superseded,  retreated  from  before  Richmond,  and 
started  on  his  return  from  James  River,  Lee  moved 
nearly  his  whole  army  up  from  Richmond,  hoping  to 
fall  upon  Pope  before  McClellan  could  join  him.  On 
August  22d  the  opposing  forces  confronted  each 
other  along  the  Rappahannock,  when  General  Stuart, 
with  the  Confederate  cavalry,  made  a  raid  around 
Pope's  lines  to  the  rear,  reaching  that  general's  head- 
quarters and  capturing  his  personal  baggage,  in  which 


THE  TWO  BATTLES  OF  BULL  RUN.  103 

was  his  despatch  book  describing  the  position  of  the 
whole  Northern  army.  This  gave  Lee  such  valuable 
information  that  on  the  25th  he  sent  Stonewall  Jack- 
son with  thirty  thousand  men,  who,  by  a  forced 
march,  went  around  the  western  side  of  the  Bull 
Run  Mountains,  came  east  again  by  the  Thorough- 
fare Gap,  and  on  the  night  of  the  27th  was  in  Pope's 
rear,  and  had  cut  his  railroad  connections  and  cap- 
tured his  supplies  at  Manassas.  Pope,  discovering 
the  flanking  movement,  began  falling  back  towards 
Manassas,  and  Jackson  then  withdrew  towards  the 
Gap,  waiting  for  Lee  to  come  up.  There  were  vari- 
ous strategic  movements  afterwards,  with  fighting  on 
the  29th  ;  and  on  the  30th  the  Confederate  wings 
had  enclosed  as  in  a  vise  Pope's  forces  to  the  west 
of  Bull  Run,  when,  after  some  terrific  combats,  Pope 
retreated  across  Bull  Run  towards  Washington.  Pope 
had  about  thirty -five  thousand  men  and  Lee  forty-six 
thousand  engaged  in  this  battle.  During  the  night 
of  September  2d  Jackson  made  &  reconnoissance 
towards  Washington,  in  which  the  Union  Generals 
Stevens  and  Kearney  were  killed  at  Chantilly,  and 
the  authorities  became  so  apprehensive  of  an  attack 
upon  the  Capital  that  they  ordered  the  whole  army 
to  fall  back  behind  the  Washington  defenses.  Pope 
was  then  relieved,  at  his  own  request,  and  the  com- 
mand restored  to  McClellan.  The  Confederates 
marched  northward  across  the  Potomac  and  McClel- 
lan followed,  ending  with  the  battles  of  South  Moun- 


104     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

tain  and  Antietam,  later  in  September,  when  Lee  re- 
treated and  recrossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia  on 
the  18th.  The  significant  result  of  this  conflict  and 
withdrawal  was  the  issue  of  the  famous  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation.  President  Lincoln  had  made  a 
vow  that  if  Lee  was  driven  back  from  Maryland  he 
would  issue  a  proclamation  abolishing  slavery,  which 
was  done  September  22,  1862. 

FREDERICKSBURG   AND   THE   WILDERNESS. 

The  route  from  Washington  to  Richmond  skirts 
the  Potomac  for  a  long  distance  south  of  Alexandria, 
winding  among  hills  and  forests,  crossing  various 
broad  creeks  and  bayous,  among  them  the  Occoquan, 
the  outlet  of  Bull  Run,  and  then  diverges  towards 
the  Rappahannock.  This  is  more  historic  ground, 
for  the  terrible  battle  of  Fredericksburg  was  fought 
here  in  December,  1862,  and  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lors ville,  to  the  westward,  in  May,  1863,  where  Stone- 
wall Jackson  lost  his  life.  The  "  Wilderness  n  is  to 
the  southward  of  the  Rappahannock,  occupying  about 
two  hundred  square  miles,  a  plateau  sloping  to  culti- 
vated lowlands  on  every  side.  The  original  forests 
were  long  ago  cut  off,  and  a  dense  growth  of  scrub 
timber  and  brambles  covered  nearly  the  whole  sur- 
face, with  an  occasional  patch  of  woodland  or  a  clear- 
ing. After  the  battle  of  Antietam  the  anxiety  for 
another  forward  movement  to  Richmond  led  the  Ad- 
ministration to  remove  McClellan,  and  then  General 


FREDERICKSBURG  AND  THE  WILDERNESS.      105 

Burnside  took  command.  His  troops  crossed  the 
Rappahannock  in  December  to  attack  General  Lee's 
Confederate  position  on  the  Heights  of  Marye,  where 
they  were  strongly  entrenched  j  but  the  attack  failed, 
the  shattered  army  after  great  carnage  withdrawing 
to  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  and  it  lay  there  for 
months  in  winter  quarters.  Burnside  was  superseded 
by  General  Hooker,  and  in  May,  1863,  the  Northern 
army  again  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at  several 
fords  above  Fredericksburg  and  started  for  Rich- 
mond. Lee  quickly  marched  westward  from  Freder- 
icksburg, and  Lee  and  Hooker  faced  each  other  at 
Chancellorsville.  Then  came  another  of  Stonewall 
Jackson's  brilliant  flank  movements.  Chancellors- 
ville is  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  Wilderness,  and 
Jackson,  making  a  long  detour  to  the  south  and  west 
through  that  desolate  region,  got  around  and  behind 
Hooker's  right  flank,  surprised  him,  and  sent  General 
Howard's  entire  corps  in  panic  down  upon  the  rest 
of  the  Union  forces,  making  the  greatest  surprise  of 
the  war.  During  that  same  night  Jackson,  after  his 
victory,  was  accidentally  shot  by  his  own  men,  a 
blow  from  which  the  Confederacy  never  recovered. 
Twelve  miles  south  of  Fredericksburg,  at  Guinney 
Station,  is  the  little  house  where  Jackson  died.  He 
and  his  aides,  after  reconnoitering,  had  returned  with- 
in the  Confederate  lines,  and  the  pickets,  mistaking 
them  for  the  enemy,  fired  into  the  party.  Several 
of  his  escort  were  killed  and  Jackson  was  shot  in 


106     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

three  places,  an  arm  being  shattered.  Being  put 
upon  a  litter  one  of  the  bearers  stumbled,  and  Jack- 
son was  additionally  injured  by  being  thrown  to  the 
ground.  The  arm  was  amputated,  but  afterwards 
pneumonia  set  in,  which  was  the  immediate  cause  of 
his  death.  He  lingered  a  week,  dying  May  10th,  in 
his  fortieth  year,  his  last  words,  dreamily  spoken, 
being :  "  Let  us  cross  over  the  river  and  rest  under 
the  shade  of  the  trees."  It  is  said  this  loss  of  his 
ablest  lieutenant  had  such  an  effect  upon  Lee  that  he 
afterwards  aged  rapidly,  and  his  hair  quickly 
whitened.  The  spot  where  Jackson  was  shot  is 
alongside  the  Orange  Plank  Road,  and  is  marked  by 
a  granite  monument.  Jackson  is  buried  at  Lexington, 
Virginia,  where  he  had  previously  been  a  professor 
in  the  Military  Academy.  Hooker  withdrew  across 
the  Rappahannock,  Lee  started  northward,  Hooker 
was  succeeded  by  Meade,  and  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg was  fought  at  the  beginning  of  July. 

Then  came  another  movement  towards  Richmond, 
late  in  the  year  1863.  Meade  marched  down  to  the 
Wilderness  in  November,  had  heavy  skirmishing  and 
fought  the  battle  of  Mine  Run  on  its  western  border, 
and  then  went  back  and  into  winter  quarters.  Gen- 
eral Grant  came  from  the  West,  took  command,  and 
early  in  May,  1864,  started  on  his  great  march  to 
Richmond  through  the  Wilderness,  with  Lee  con- 
stantly fighting  on  his  right  flank  and  front.  There 
followed  during  that  month  a  series  of  sanguinary 


FREDEEICKSBUBG  AND  THE  WILDEKNESS.      107 

battles,  in  this  inhospitable  region,  in  which  the  losses 
of  the  two  armies  exceeded  sixty  thousand  men. 
While  moving  southward,  Grant  faced  and  fought 
generally  westward.  It  took  him  ten  days  to  pro- 
gress a  dozen  miles,  and  he  could  only  move  during 
the  lulls  in  the  fighting,  the  advance  being  usually 
made  by  changing  one  corps  after  another  from  the 
right  to  the  left  by  marching  in  the  rear  of  the  main 
body,  thus  gradually  prolonging  the  left  wing  south- 
ward through  the  forbidding  country.  Lee  pressed 
forward  into  the  vacated  space,  fortifying  and  fight- 
ing, his  object  being  to  force  Grant  eastward  and 
away  from  Richmond,  which  was  towards  the  south. 
u  More  desperate  fighting  has  not  been  witnessed 
upon  this  Continent,"  said  Grant  of  this  struggle  in 
the  Wilderness ;  and  later  he  wrote  to  Washington 
the  famous  declaration  of  his  intention  il  to  fight  it 
out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer."  The  whole 
of  this  desolate  region  south  and  west  of  Fredericks- 
burg and  down  to  Spottsylvania  is  filled  with  the  re- 
mains of  the  fortifications  constructed  in  these  memor- 
able battles.  Grant  said  that  "  In  every  change  of 
position  or  halt  for  the  night,  whether  confronting 
the  enemy  or  not,  the  moment  arms  were  stacked 
the  men  entrenched  themselves,"  adding,  "It  was 
wonderful  how  quickly  they  could  construct  defenses 
of  considerable  strength."  Thus  the  way  was  worked, 
by  shovel  and  shell  and  musket  and  axe,  through  the 
Wilderness.     There   is  a  plan   afoot   for  acquiring 


108     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

these  battlefields  and  the  connecting  roads,  so  as 
to  preserve  this  historic  ground  as  a  public  reserva- 
tion. 

The  railway  route  to  Richmond  goes  through  the 
Wilderness,  thinly  peopled,  sparsely  cultivated,  and 
exhibiting  a  few  negro  settlements,  where  they  sun 
themselves  alongside  their  cabins  and  watch  the 
trains  go  by.  There  is  an  occasional  horse  or  cow, 
but  almost  the  only  animals  visible  are  the  nimble- 
footed  and  hungry-looking  "razor-backed"  hogs 
that  range  the  scrub  timber  in  search  of  a  precarious 
living.  Once  in  awhile  is  seen  an  old  homestead 
that  has  survived  the  ruin  of  the  war,  but  the  few 
buildings  are  generally  most  primitive,  the  favorite 
style  being  a  small  wooden  cabin  set  alongside  a 
huge  brick  chimney.  ,  It  is  said  the  chimney  is  first 
built,  and  if  the  draught  is  all  right  they  then  build 
the  little  cabin  over  against  it  and  move  in  the  family. 
The  agriculture  does  not  appear  much  better  until 
Richmond  is  approached,  where  the  surface  of  the 
country  improves.  At  Hanover  Court  House  are 
more  signs  of  battlefields,  for  here  McClellan  had  his 
early  conflicts  in  besieging  Richmond  in  1862,  while 
Grant  came  down  from  the  Wilderness  and  had  the 
battles  of  the  North  Anna  near  the  end  of  May,  1864, 
and  of  Cold  Harbor  in  June,  after  which  he  moved 
his  army  to  the  south  side  of  James  River.  Ashland, 
sixteen  miles  north  of  Richmond,  is  in  an  attractive 
region,  and  is  a  favorite  place  of  suburban  residence. 


THE  CITY  OF  RICHMOND.  109 

This  was  the  birthplace  of  Henry  Clay,  in  1777,  and 
is  the  seat  of  Randolph  Macon  College. 

THE   CITY   OF   RICHMOND. 

Richmond,  the  capital  of  Virginia,  has  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  population,  and  occu- 
pies a  delightful  situation.  The  James  River  flows 
around  a  grand  curve  from  the  northwest  to  the  south, 
and  pours  over  falls  and  rapids,  which  display  many 
little  cascades  among  a  maze  of  diminutive  islands. 
There  are  on  the  northern  bank  two  or  three  large 
hills  and  several  smaller  ones,  and  Richmond  is  built 
upon  these,  it  is  said  like  Rome  upon  her  seven  hills. 
The  State  Capitol  and  a  broad  white  penitentiary 
crown  two  of  the  highest.  The  town  was  founded  at 
the  falls  of  the  James  in  1737,  and  the  capital  of  Vir- 
ginia was  moved  here  from  Williamsburg  in  1779, 
when  there  was  only  a  small  population.  The  place 
did  not  have  much  history,  however,  until  it  became 
the  Capital  of  the  Confederacy,  and  then  the  strong 
efforts  made  to  capture  it  and  the  vigorous  defence 
gave  it  world-wide  fame.  Beginning  in  1862  it  was 
made  an  impregnable  fortress,  and  its  fall,  when  the 
Confederate  flank  was  turned  in  1865  through  the 
capture  of  Petersburg,  resulted  from  General  Lee's 
retreat  westward  and  his  final  surrender  at  Appo- 
mattox. When  Lee  abandoned  Petersburg  there  was 
a  panic  in  Richmond,  with  riot  and  pillage;  the 
bridges,  storehouses  and  mills  were  fired,  and  nearly 


110     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

one-third  of  the  city  burnt.  It  has  since,  however, 
been  rebuilt  in  better  style,  and  has  extensive  manu- 
factures and  a  profitable  trade. 

The  centre  of  Richmond  is  a  park  of  twelve  acres, 
surrounding  the  Capitol,  a  venerable  building  upon 
the  summit  of  Shockoe  Hill,  and  the  most  conspicu- 
ous structure  in  the  city.  It  was  built  just  after  the 
American  Revolution,  the  plan  having  been  brought 
from  France  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  modelled  from 
the  ancient  Roman  temple  of  the  Maison  Carrie  at 
Nismes,  the  front  being  a  fine  Ionic  portico.  From 
the  roof,  elevated  high  above  every  surrounding 
building,  there  is  an  excellent  view,  disclosing  the 
grand  sweep  of  the  river  among  the  islands  and 
rapids,  going  off  to  the  south,  where  it  disappears 
among  the  hills  behind  Drewry's  Bluff,  below  the 
town.  The  square-block  plan  with  streets  crossing 
at  right  angles  is  well  displayed,  and  the  abrupt  sides 
of  some  of  the  hills,  where  they  have  been  cut  away, 
disclose  the  high-colored,  reddish-yellow  soils  which 
have  been  so  prolific  in  tobacco  culture,  and  give  the 
scene  such  brilliant  hues,  as  well  as  dye  the  river  a 
chocolate  color  in  times  of  freshet.  The  city  spreads 
over  a  wide  surface,  and  has  populous  suburbs  on  the 
lower  lands  south  of  the  James.  This  Capitol  was 
the  meeting-place  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  and 
the  locality  of  all  the  statecraft  of  the  u  Lost  Cause." 
It  contains  the  battle-flags  of  the  Virginia  troops  and 
other  relics,  and  in  a  gallery  built  around  the  rotunda 


THE  CITY  OF  RICHMOND.  Ill 

are  hung  the  portraits  of  the  Virginia  Governors  and 
of  the  three  great  military  chiefs,  Lee,  Johnston  and 
Jackson.  Upon  the  floor  beneath  is  Houdon's  famous 
statue  of  Washington,  made  while  he  was  yet  alive. 
In  1785,  the  talented  French  sculptor  accompanied 
Franklin  to  this  country  to  prepare  the  model  for  the 
statue,  which  had  been  ordered  by  the  Virginia  Gov- 
ernment. He  spent  two  weeks  at  Mount  Vernon 
with  Washington,  taking  casts  of  his  face,  head  and 
upper  portion  of  the  body,  with  minute  measure- 
ments, and  then  returned  to  Paris.  The  statue  was 
finished  in  1788,  and  is  regarded  as  the  most  accu- 
rate reproduction  of  Washington  existing.  A  statue 
of  Henry  Clay  and  a  bust  of  Lafayette  are  also  in 
the  rotunda. 

On  the  esplanade  north  of  the  Capitol  is  Craw- 
ford's bronze  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  upon 
a  massive  granite  pedestal,  one  of  the  most  attractive 
and  elaborate  bronzes  ever  made.  The  horse  is 
half  thrown  upon  his  haunches,  giving  the  statue  ex- 
ceeding spirit,  while  upon  smaller  pedestals  around 
stand  six  heroic  statues  in  bronze  of  Virginia  states- 
men of  various  periods — Patrick  Henry,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Thomas  Nelson,  George  Mason,  Andrew 
Lewis  and  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall — the  whole 
adorned  with  appropriate  emblems.  This  artistic 
masterpiece  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $260,000. 
In  the  centre  of  the  esplanade  is  Foley's  bronze 
statue  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  sent  from  London  in 


112     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

1875  by  a  number  of  his  English  admirers  as  a  gift 
to  the  State  of  Virginia.  It  is  of  heroic  size,  stand- 
ing upon  a  pedestal  of  Virginia  granite,  and  is  a 
striking  reproduction.  The  inscription  is :  u  Pre- 
sented by  English  gentlemen  as  a  tribute  of  admira- 
tion for  the  soldier  and  patriot,  Thomas  J.  Jackson, 
and  gratefully  accepted  by  Virginia  in  the  name  of 
the  Southern  people."  Beneath  is  inscribed  in  the 
granite  the  remark  giving  his  sobriquet,  which  was 
made  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  in  1862,  where 
Jackson  commanded  a  brigade.  At  a  time  when  the 
day  was  apparently  lost,  his  troops  made  so  firm  a 
stand  that  some  one,  in  admiration,  called  out  the 
words  that  became  immortal :  u  Look,  there  is  Jack- 
son standing  like  a  stone  wall  \n  A  short  distance 
from  the  Capitol  is  the  u  Confederate  White  House," 
a  square-built  dwelling,  with  a  high  porch  in  the  rear 
and  a  small  portico  in  front.  Here  lived  Jefferson 
Davis  during  his  career  as  President  of  the  Con- 
federacy ;  it  is  now  a  museum  of  war  relics.  Nearby 
is  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  where  Davis  was  at- 
tending service  on  the  eventful  Sunday  morning  in 
April,  1865,  when  he  was  brought  the  fateful  tele- 
gram from  General  Lee  which  said  that  Richmond 
must  be  immediately  evacuated.  In  the  central  part 
of  the  residential  quarter,  on  Franklin  Street,  is  the 
plain  brick  house  which  during  the  Civil  War  was 
the  home  of  General  Lee.  It  is  related  that  after 
the  Appomattox  surrender,  when  he  returned  to  this 


THE  CITY  OF  EICHMOND.  113 

house,  the  people  of  Richmond  got  an  idea  that  he 
was  suffering  privations  and  his  family  needed  the 
necessaries  of  life.  His  son,  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  after- 
wards said  that  the  people  then  vied  with  each  other 
in  sending  him  everything  imaginable.  So  generous 
were  the  gifts  that  the  upper  parts  of  the  house  were 
filled  with  barrels  of  flour,  meats  and  many  other 
things,  and  the  supplies  became  so  bountiful  that 
Lee  directed  their  distribution  among  the  poor.  This 
house  is  now  occupied  by  the  Virginia  Historical 
Society.  A  magnificent  equestrian  statue  of  General 
Lee  was  erected  on  Park  Avenue  in  1890. 

Some  Richmond  memorials,  however,  antedate  the 
Civil  War.  Its  "first  house" — a  low,  steep-roofed 
stone  cabin  on  the  Main  street,  said  to  have  been 
there  when  the  town  site  was  first  laid  out — is  an  ob- 
ject of  homage.  The  popular  idea  is  that  the  Indian 
King  Powhatan  originally  lived  in  this  house,  but  it 
was  probably  constructed  after  his  time.  Not  far 
away,  upon  Richmond  or  Church  Hill,  stands  St. 
John's  Church  among  the  old  gravestones  in  a 
spacious  churchyard.  It  was  built  in  1740 — a  little 
wooden  church  with  a  small  steeple.  Here  the  first 
Virginian  Convention  was  held  which  paved  the  way 
for  the  Revolution  in  1775,  and  listened  to  Patrick 
Henry's  impassioned  speech — "  Give  me  liberty  or 
give  me  death."  The  pew  in  which  he  stood  while 
speaking  is  still  preserved.  An  adjoining  eminence 
is  called  Libby  Hill,  where  lived  Luther  Libby,  who 


114     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

owned  most  of  the  land  thereabout.  Under  its 
shadow  was  the  Libby  Prison  of  the  Civil  War,  since 
removed  to  Chicago  for  exhibition.  It  had  been  a 
tobacco  warehouse,  occupied  by  Libby  &  Co.,  but 
during  the  war  it  held  at  various  times  over  fifty 
thousand  Northern  prisoners.  All  the  captured 
soldiers  were  first  taken  to  Libby,  the  commissioned 
officers  remaining  there,  while  the  privates  were  sent 
to  points  in  the  interior.  The  most  noted  event  in 
the  history  of  this  prison  was  the  boring  of  a  tunnel 
through  the  eastern  wall,  in  February,  1864,  by  which 
one  hundred  and  nine  prisoners,  led  by  Colonel 
Streight,  managed  to  escape  into  an  adjoining  stable 
and  storehouse,  and  though  more  than  half  of  them 
were  recaptured,  the  others  got  safely  out  of  Richmond 
and  into  the  Union  lines. 

The  water  power  of  the  James  River  supplies 
huge  flour  mills  and  other  factories,  and  alongside 
the  stream  are  the  extensive  Tredegar  Iron  Works 
at  the  base  of  Gamble  Hill,  one  of  the  largest  iron 
and  steel  works  in  the  Southern  States.  Here  were 
made  the  Confederate  cannon,  shot  and  shell,  and 
the  primitive  armor  plates  for  their  few  warships. 
This  hill  also  overlooks  the  James  River  and  Kana- 
wha Canal,  an  interior  water  way  going  westward 
beyond  the  Alleghenies.  In  mid-river  above  is  Belle 
Isle,  a  broad,  flat  island,  which  during  the  war  was 
a  place  of  imprisonment  for  private  soldiers,  but  upon 
it  is  now  an  iron  mill.    Along  the  lower  river  are  the 


THE  CITY  OF  BICHMOND.  115 

wharves  and  shipping,  in  the  section  called  Rock- 
etts,  and  here  are  also  the  tobacco  storehouses  and 
factories,  the  chief  Richmond  industry,  for  it  is  the 
world's  leading  tobacco  mart,  receiving  and  distribut- 
ing most  of  the  product  of  the  rich  soils  of  Virginia, 
Kentucky  and  Carolina.  The  pungent  odor  gener- 
ally pervades  the  town,  for  whichever  way  the  wind 
may  blow  it  wafts  the  perfume  of  a  tobacco  or  ciga- 
rette factory.  The  Tobacco  Exchange  is  the  business 
centre,  and  this  industry  is  of  the  first  importance. 
The  modern-built  City  Hall,  adjacent  to  the  Capitol 
Park,  is  one  of  Richmond's  finest  buildings. 

In  the  western  suburbs,  upon  the  river  bank,  and 
in  a  lovely  position,  is  the  famous  Hollywood  Ceme- 
tery, the  terraced  sides  of  its  ravines  being  occupied 
by  mausoleums  arid  graves,  while  in  front  the  rushing 
rapids  roar  a  requiem  for  the  dead.  The  foliage  is 
luxuriant  j  and,  while  occupying  only  about  eighty 
acres,  it  is  a  most  beautiful  burial-place.  Here  are 
interred  two  Virginia  Presidents — James  Monroe  and 
John  Tyler.  An  elaborate  monument  marks  the 
former,  and  a  magnificent  tree  is  planted  at  Tyler's 
grave — his  daughter,  buried  nearby,  having  for  a 
monument  a  tasteful  figure  of  the  Virgin.  The 
Hollywood  Cemetery  Association  is  to  place  a  monu- 
ment on  Tyler's  grave.  Here  are  also  buried  Con- 
federate Generals  A.  P.  Hill,  J.  E.  E*  Stuart,  the 
dashing  cavalryman,  and  George  E.  Pickett,  who  led 
the  desperate  Confederate  charge  of  the  Virginia 
Vol.  1—6 


116     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Division  at  Gettysburg.  It  also  contains  the  graves 
of  the  eccentric  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke ;  Com- 
modore Maury,  the  navigator  j  Henry  A.  Wise,  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  when  the  State  seceded,  and 
Thomas  Ritchie,  long  editor  of  the  Bichmond  En- 
quirer, a  most  powerful  writer  and  political  leader  in 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  who  is  re- 
garded in  Virginia  as  the  "  Father  of  the  Democratic 
Party."  There  are  crowded  into  this  cemetery  in 
one  place  twelve  thousand  graves  of  Confederate 
soldiers,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  ghastly  plot  there 
rises  a  huge  stone  pyramid,  ninety  feet  high, 
erected  as  a  memorial  by  the  Southern  women. 
Vines  overrunning  it  almost  conceal  the  rough  joints 
of  the  stones.  No  name  is  upon  it,  for  it  was  built 
as  a  monument  for  the  unnamed  dead.  On  three 
sides  are  inscriptions  j  on  one  "  To  the  Confederate 
Dead  j"  on  another  "  Memoria  in  iEterna,"  and  on  a 
third  "Numini  et  Patriae  Asto."  As  they  fell  on 
the  adjacent  battlefields  or  died  in  the  hospitals,  un- 
claimed, they  were  brought  here  and  buried  in  rows. 
In  one  urgent,  terrible  season,  time  not  being  given 
to  prepare  separate  graves,  the  bodies  were  interred 
on  the  hillside  in  long  trenches.  This  sombre  pyra- 
mid and  its  immediate  surroundings  are  impres- 
sive memorials  of  the  great  war.  From  any  of  the 
Richmond  hills  can  be  seen  other  grim  mementos. 
Almost  all  the  present  city  parks  were  then  army 
hospitals  or  cemeteries ;  all  the  chief  highways  lead 


M'CLELLAN'S  SIEGE  OF  EICHMOND.  117 

out  to  battlefields,  and  most  of  them  in  the  suburbs 
are  bordered  with  the  graves  of  the  dead  of  both 
armies.  All  around  the  compass  the  outlook  is  upon 
battlefields,  and  on  all  sides  but  the  north  upon 
cemeteries. 


The  great  memory  of  Richmond  for  all  time  will 
be  of  the  Civil  War,  when  for  three  years  battles 
raged  around  it.  The  first  movement  against  the 
city  was  McClelland  siege  in  1862,  and  the  environs 
show  abundant  remains  of  the  forts,  redoubts  and 
long  lines  of  earthworks  by  which  the  Confederate 
Capital  was  so  gallantly  defended.  The  earliest  at- 
tack was  by  Union  gunboats  in  May,  1862,  against 
the  batteries  defending  Drewry's  Bluff  on  James 
River,  seven  miles  below  the  town,  the  defensive 
works  being  so  strong  that  little  impression  was 
made,  but  enough  was  learned  to  prevent  any  sub- 
sequent naval  attack  there.  McClellan  came  up  the 
Peninsula  between  James  and  York  Rivers,  ap- 
proached Richmond  from  the  east,  and  extended  his 
army  around  to  the  north,  enveloping  it  upon  a  line 
which  was  the  arc  of  a  circle,  from  seven  miles  east 
to  five  miles  north  of  the  city.  The  Chickahominy 
flows  through  a  broad  and  swampy  depression  in  the 
table-land  north  and  east  of  Richmond,  bordered  by 
meadows,  fens  and  thickets  of  underbrush.  It  thus 
divided  McClellan's  investing   army,  and  the   first 


118     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

great  battle  near  Richmond  was  begun  by  the  Con- 
federates, who  took  advantage  of  a  heavy  rain  late 
in  May  which  had  swollen  the  river  and  swamps. 
They  fell  upon  the  Union  left  wing  on  May  31st,  and 
the  indecisive  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  in  which  the 
losses  were  ten  thousand  men,  was  fought  southwest 
of  the  Chickahominy.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
the  Confederate  Commander,  was  badly  wounded, 
and  General  Lee  succeeded  him,  continuing  in  com- 
mand until  the  war  closed.  Extensive  cemeteries 
now  mark  this  battlefield  among  the  swamps.  Dur- 
ing June  the  heat  and  malaria  filled  McClellan's  hos- 
pitals with  fever  cases,  and  he  had  to  move  the 
greater  portion  of  his  army  to  higher  ground  north 
of  the  Chickahominy,  where  he  erected  protective 
earthworks.  These  still  exist,  with  the  formidable 
ranges  of  opposing  Confederate  works  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  Confederate  movements 
of  the  war  followed.  McClelland  right  wing  stretched 
around  to  the  village  of  Mechanicsville,  five  miles 
north  of  Richmond,  and  Lee  determined  to  over- 
whelm this  wing.  Stonewall  Jackson  had  been  driv- 
ing the  Union  troops  out  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
northwest  of  Richmond,  and  late  in  June  began  a 
combined  movement  with  Lee's  army  at  Richmond. 
Longstreet  and  Hill  crossed  the  Chickahominy  above 
Mechanicsville  and  attacked  the  Union  right,  begin- 
ning the  "  Seven  Days'  Battles,"  lasting  from  June 


,     llfCLELLAN'S  SIEGE  OF  BICHMOND.  119 

25  to  July  1,  1862.  Jackson  was  to  have  got  down 
the  same  day  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  but  his 
march  was  delayed,  and  this  gave  time  for  McClellan 
to  withdraw  his  wing  and  extensive  baggage  trains 
across  the  swamps  below,  the  stubborn  defense  by 
his  rear  guards  making  the  fierce  conflict  of  Gaines' 
Mill,  on  the  second  day,  during  which  Jackson, 
coming  from  the  northward  and  joining  the  others, 
compelled  the  Union  lines  to  change  front,  the  con- 
test thus  turning  into  the  first  battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
in  which  the  rear  held  their  ground  until  the  retreat 
was  completed  across  the  Chickahominy,  and  with- 
drew, destroying  roads  and  bridges  behind  them. 
McClellan  then  made  a  further  retreat,  for  which 
these  obstructive  tactics  gave  time,  across  the  White 
Oak  Swamp  down  the  river,  moving  on  a  single  road, 
leading  to  higher  ground,  which  was  held  by  hasty 
defenses.  The  Confederate  attacks  upon  this  new 
line  made  the  battles  of  Savage  Station,  Charles  City 
Cross  Roads,  and  Frazier's  Farm,  the  pursuit  being 
checked  long  enough  to  permit  another  retreat  and 
the  formation  of  lines  of  defense  on  Malvern  Hill, 
fifteen  miles  southeast  of  Richmond,  adjoining  James 
River.  The  Confederates  again  attacked,  but  met  a 
disastrous  check ;  and,  wearied  by  a  week  of  battles 
and  marches,  they  then  desisted,  closing  the  seven 
days'  fighting,  in  which  both  sides  were  worn  out, 
and  the  losses  were  forty  thousand  men.  McClel- 
lan's  army,  having  retreated  from  around  Richmond, 


120     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

afterwards  withdrew  farther  down  James  River  to 
Harrison's  Landing,  and  here  they  rested.  Subse- 
quently they  were  removed  by  vessels  to  Washing- 
ton for  the  later  campaign  which  resulted  in  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  McClellan  being  super- 
seded for  a  brief  period  by  Pope.  This  brilliant 
Confederate  movement  against  McClellan  raised  the 
siege  and  relieved  Richmond,  emboldening  them  to 
make  their  subsequent  aggressive  campaigns  across 
the  Potomac,  which  were  checked  at  Antietam  and 
at  Gettysburg. 


There  were  no  Union  attacks  directly  against 
Richmond  in  1863.  The  second  great  movement 
upon  the  Confederate  Capital  began  in  June,  1864, 
when  Grant  came  down  through  the  Wilderness,  as 
already  described,  and  attacked  4;he  Confederates  at 
Cold  Harbor.  Lee  was  entrenched  there  in  almost 
the  same  defensive  position  occupied  by  McClelland 
rear  when  protecting  his  retreat  across  the  Chicka- 
hominy  two  years  before.  Grant  made  little  impres- 
sion, but  in  a  brief  and  bloody  battle  lost  fifteen 
thousand  men.  He  then  turned  aside  from  this 
almost  impregnable  position  to  the  northeast  of  Rich- 
mond, went  south  to  the  James  River,  and,  crossing 
over,  started  a  new  attack  from  a  different  quarter. 
This  removed  the  seat  of  war  to  the  south  of  Rich- 
mond, and  in   September,   1864,  General   Butler's 


GRANTS  SIEGE  OF  RICHMOND.  121 

Unionist  troops  from  Bermuda  Hundred  captured 
Fort  Harrison,  a  strong  work  on  the  northeast  side 
of  the  James,  opposite  Drewry's  Bluff,  and  not  far 
from  Malvern  Hill.  The  campaign  then  became  one 
of  stubborn  persistence.  Throughout  the  autumn 
and  winter  Grant  gradually  spread  his  lines  west- 
ward around  Petersburg,  so  that  the  later  movements 
were  more  a  siege  of  that  city  than  of  Kichmond. 
City  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox,  flowing 
out  from  Petersburg  to  the  James,  became  his  base 
of  supplies.  As  the  Union  lines  were  extended 
steadily  westward,  one  railway  after  another,  leading 
from  the  far  South  up  to  Petersburg  and  Richmond, 
was  cut  off,  and  Lee  was  ultimately  starved  out,  forc- 
ing the  abandonment  of  Petersburg  in  the  early 
spring  of  1865,  and  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  on 
April  3d,  with  the  retreat  of  Lee  westward,  and  the 
final  surrender  at  Appomattox  six  days  later,  caus- 
ing the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy,  and  ending  the 
war. 

From  the  top  of  Libby  Hill  in  Richmond  the  route 
is  still  pointed  out  by  which  the  swiftly  moving 
Union  troops,  after  that  fateful  Sunday  of  the  evacu- 
ation, advanced  over  the  level  lands  from  Petersburg 
towards  the  burning  city.  The  bridges  across  the 
James  were  burnt,  and  acres  of  buildings  in  the 
business  section  were  in  flames  when  they  came  to 
the  river  bank  and  found  that  the  greater  portion  of 
the  affrighted  people  had  fled.    The  Yankees  quickly 


122     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Jaid  a  pontoon  bridge,  crossed  to  Shockoe  Hill, 
rushed  up  to  the  Capitol,  and  raised  the  Union 
u  Stars  and  Stripes  n  on  the  roof,  replacing  the  Con- 
federate "  Stars  and  Bars."  Then  they  went  vigor- 
ously to  work  putting  out  the  fires,  and  the  new  infu- 
sion of  life  given  the  city  by  its  baptism  of  blood 
imparted  an  energy  which  has  not  only  restored  it, 
but  has  given  it  an  era  of  great  prosperity.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  the  nearest  approach  any  Northern 
troops  made  to  Richmond  during  the  progress  of  the 
war  was  in  March,  1864.  A  precursor  to  Grant's 
march  through  the  Wilderness  was  a  dashing  cavalry 
raid  from  the  northward,  the  troopers  crossing  the 
Chickahominy,  then  unguarded,  and  advancing  to  a 
point  about  one  mile  from  the  city  limits.  Here  they 
met  some  resistance,  and,  learning  of  defensive  works 
farther  ahead,  General  Kilpatrick,  who  commanded 
the  raiders,  retreated.  General  Lee's  troops  were 
then  fifty  miles  away  from  Richmond,  guarding  the 
lines  along  the  Rappahannock. 

PIEDMONT  AND   THE   SHENANDOAH   VALLEY. 

In  the  great  strategic  movements  of  the  opposing 
armies  of  the  Civil  War  they  repeatedly  traversed 
a  large  part  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  to  the  north- 
west of  the  route  between  Washington  and  Rich- 
mond. Like  the  general  coastal  formation  east  of 
the  Alleghenies,  Virginia  rises  into  successive  ridges 
parallel  with  the  mountains.     The  first  range  of  low 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY.      123 

broken  hills  stretching  southwest  from  the  Potomac 
are  called  in  different  parts  the  Kittoctin,  Bull  Run 
and  other  mountains  extending  down  to  the  Carolina 
boundary.  From  these,  what  is  known  as  the  Pied- 
mont district  stretches  all  across  the  State,  and  has  a 
width  of  about  twenty-five  miles  to  the  base  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  being  a  succession  of  picturesque  val- 
leys and  rolling  lands,  the  general  elevation  gradu- 
ally increasing  towards  the  northwest,  where  it  is 
bordered  by  the  towering  Blue  Ridge  and  its  many 
spurs  and  plateaus,  with  passages  through  at  various 
gaps.  The  Blue  Ridge  is  elevated  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  at  the  Potomac,  but  Mount  Marshall,  at 
Front  Royal,  rises  nearly  thirty-four  hundred  feet, 
and  the  Peaks  of  Otter,  farther  southwest,  are  much 
higher.  Beyond  this  is  the  great  Appalachian  Val- 
ley, which  stretches  from  New  England  to  Alabama, 
the  section  here  being  known  as  the  "  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia," and  its  northern  portion  as  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  This  is  a  belt  of  rolling  country,  with  many 
hills  and  vales,  diversified  by  streams  that  wind 
among  the  hillsides,  and  having  a  varying  breadth 
of  ten  to  fifty  miles  in  different  parts.  Beyond  it,  to 
the  northwest,  are  the  main  Allegheny  Mountain 
ranges.  The  opposing  troops  marched  and  fought 
over  all  this  country  in  connection  with  the  greater 
military  movements,  and  here  was  the  special  thea- 
tre of  Stonewall  Jackson's  exploits  and  his  wonder- 
ful marches  and   quick  manoeuvres  which  made  his 


124     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

troops  proudly  style  themselves  his  "  foot  cavalry." 
The  memory  of  Jackson  is  cherished  by  the  South- 
ern people  more  than  that  of  any  other  of  their 
leaders  in  the  Civil  War,  and  his  brilliant  exploits 
and  inopportune  death  have  made  him  their  special 
hero. 

In  the  Piedmont  region,  to  the  southeast  and  in 
front  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  are  the  towns  of  Leesburg, 
Manassas,  Warrenton,  Culpepper,  Orange  and  Char- 
lottesville, all  well  known  in  connection  with  the  op- 
posing military  movements.  Charlottesville,  about 
sixty-five  miles  northwest  of  Richmond,  in  a  beauti- 
ful situation,  was  an  important  Confederate  base  of 
supplies.  Here  are  now  about  six  thousand  people, 
and  the  town  has  its  chief  fame  as  the  seat  of  the 
University  of  Virginia  and  the  home  of  Thomas 
Jefferson.  The  University  was  founded  mainly 
through  the  exertions  of  Jefferson,  and  has  some 
five  hundred  students.  Its  buildings  are  a  mile  out 
of  town,  and  the  original  ones  were  constructed  from 
Jefferson's  designs  and  under  his  supervision,  the 
chief  being  the  Rotunda,  recently  rebuilt,  and  the 
modern  structures  for  a  Museum  of  Natural  History 
and  an  Observatory.  Jefferson  was  proud  of  this 
institution,  and  in  the  inscription  which  he  prepared 
for  his  tomb  described  himself  as  the  u  author  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  of  the  statute  of 
Virginia  for  religious  freedom,  and  father  of  the 
University  of   Virginia."     Among   its  most  famous 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY.      125 

students  was  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  and  a  fine  bronze 
bust  of  him  was  unveiled  at  the  University  in  1899, 
on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  death.  Thomas 
Jefferson  lived  at  Monticello,  the  old  house  being 
an  interesting  specimen  of  early  Virginia  archi- 
tecture, and  standing  on  a  hill  southeast  of  the  town. 
Here  he  died  just  fifty  years  after  the  Declaration 
was  promulgated,  July  4,  1826,  and  he  is  buried  in 
the  family  graveyard  near  the  house.  Monticello  is 
now  celebrated  for  its  native  wines. 

The  Shenandoah  Valley  during  the  war  was  noted 
for  the  way  in  which  the  opposing  forces  chased  each 
other  up  and  down,  with  repeated  severe  battles. 
Here  was  fought,  in  June,  1862,  the  battle  of  Cross 
Keys,  near  the  forks  of  the  Shenandoah.  Jackson 
had  previously  retreated  up  the  Valley,  but  by  a 
series  of  brilliant  movements,  begun  after  the  battle 
of  Fair  Oaks  before  Richmond,  he  was  able  to  meet 
and  defeat  in  detail  the  various  armies  under  Banks, 
Fremont,  McDowell  and  Shields,  thus  managing  to 
foil  or  hold  in  check  seventy  thousand  men,  while  his 
own  troops  were  never  more  than  twenty  thousand. 
Then  coming  southward  out  of  the  Valley,  he  joined 
in  turning  McClelland  right  wing  before  Richmond 
at  the  end  of  June,  afterwards  following  up  Banks 
in  August,  and  defeating  him  at  Cedar  Mountain,  near 
Culpepper ;  then  joining  in  the  defeat  of  Pope  at  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run  j  then  capturing  Harper's 
Ferry  and  eleven    thousand    men   September  15th, 


126     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  finally  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Antietam  two 
days  later.  When  Grant  began  his  siege  of  Rich- 
mond after  the  second  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  in  1864, 
he  made  General  Sheridan  commander  of  the  troops 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  fortune  turned. 
Sheridan  opposed  Early,  and  in  September  and  Oc- 
tober had  a  series  of  brilliant  victories,  the  last  one 
at  Cedar  Creek,  where  he  turned  a  rout  into  a  vic- 
tory by  his  prompt  movements.  Sheridan  had  been 
in  Washington,  and  came  to  Winchester,  "twenty 
miles  away,"  where  he  heard  "  the  terrible  grumble 
and  rumble  and  roar "  of  the  battle,  and  made  his 
noted  ride,  the  exploit  being  so  conspicuous  that  he 
received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  Early  in  1865  he 
made  a  cavalry  raid  from  Winchester,  in  the  Valley, 
down  to  the  westward  of  Richmond,  around  Lee's 
lines,  and  rejoined  the  army  at  Petersburg,  having 
destroyed  the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  and 
cut  various  important  railway  connections  in  the  Con- 
federate rear.  The  Shenandoah  Valley  to-day  is 
very  much  in  its  primitive  condition  of  agriculture, 
but  has  been  opened  up  by  railway  connections  which 
develop  its  resources,  and  its  great  present  attraction 
is  the  Cave  of  Luray.  This  cavern  is  about  five 
miles  from  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  some  distance  south- 
west of  Front  Royal.  It  is  a  compact  cavern,  well 
lighted  by  electricity,  and  is  more  completely  and 
profusely  decorated  with  stalactites  and  stalagmites 
than  any  other  in  the  world.     Some  of  the  chambers 


THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  GETTYSBURG.    127 

are  very  imposing,  and  all  the  more  important  for- 
mations have  been  appropriately  named.  The 
scenery  of  the  neighborhood  is  picturesque,  and 
the  cavern  has  many  visitors. 

THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  GETTYSBURG. 

In  considering  the  great  theatre  of  the  Civil  War, 
attention  is  naturally  directed  to  the  chief  contest  of 
all,  and  the  turning-point  of  the  rebellion,  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  fought  at  the  beginning  of  July, 
1863.  After  the  victory  at  Chancellorsville  in  May 
the  Confederates  determined  to  carry  the  war  north- 
ward into  the  enemy's  country.  Gettysburg  is  seven 
miles  north  of  the  southern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  over  forty  miles  from  the  Potomac  River.  To 
the  westward  is  the  long  curving  range  of  the  South 
Mountain,  and  beyond  this  the  great  Appalachian 
Valley,  a  continuation  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
crossing  Central  Pennsylvania  in  a  curve,  and  here 
called  the  Cumberland  Valley.  In  the  latter  are  two 
prominent  towns,  Chambersburg  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  Hagerstown  in  Maryland,  on  the  Potomac. 
General  Lee,  in  preparation  for  the  march  north- 
ward, gathered  nearly  ninety  thousand  men  at  Cul- 
pepper in  Virginia,  including  Stuart's  cavalry  force 
of  ten  thousand.  General  Hooker's  Union  army, 
which  had  withdrawn  across  the  Rappahannock  after 
Chancellorsville,  was  then  encamped  opposite  Freder- 
icksburg, and  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south  of 


128     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Gettysburg.  Lee  started  northward  across  the  Po- 
tomac, but  Hooker  did  not  discover  it  for  some  days, 
and  then  rapidly  followed.  The  Confederates  crossed 
between  June  22d  and  25th,  and  concentrated  at 
Hagerstown,  in  the  Cumberland  Valley,  up  which 
they  made  a  rapid  march,  overrunning  the  entire 
valley  to  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  appearing  op- 
posite Harrisburg  and  Columbia.  Hooker,  being 
late  in  movement,  crossed  the  Potomac  lower  down 
than  Lee,  on  June  28th,  thus  making  a  northern 
race,  up  the  curving  valleys,  with  Lee  in  advance, 
but  on  the  longer  route  of  the  outer  circle.  There 
was  a  garrison  of  ten  thousand  men  at  Harper's 
Ferry  oh  the  Potomac,  and  Hooker  asked  that  they 
be  added  to  his  army ;  but  the  War  Department  de- 
clined, and  Hooker  immediately  resigned,  being  suc- 
ceeded by  General  George  G.  Meade,  who  thus  on 
the  eve  of  the  battle  became  the  Union  commander. 

There  are  two  parallel  ridges  bordering  the  plain 
on  which  Gettysburg  stands.  The  long  Seminary 
Ridge,  stretching  from  north  to  south  about  a  mile 
west  of  the  town,  gets  its  name  from  the  Lutheran 
Theological  Seminary  standing  upon  it ;  and  the 
Cemetery  Ridge  to  the  south  of  the  town,  which 
partly  stretches  up  its  slopes,  has  on  its  northern 
flat-topped  hill  the  village  cemetery,  wherein  the 
principal  grave  then  was  that  of  James  Gettys,  after 
whom  the  place  was  named.  There  is  an  outlying 
eminence  called  Culp's  Hill  farther  to  the  east,  mak- 


THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  GETTYSBUEG.    129 

ing,  with  the  Cemetery  Ridge,  a  formation  bent 
around  much  like  a  fish-hook,  with  the  graveyard  at 
the  bend  and  Culp's  Hill  at  the  barb,  while  far  down 
at  the  southern  end  of  the  long  straight  shank,  as  the 
ridge  extends  for  two  miles  away,  with  an  interven- 
ing rocky  gorge  called  the  DeviFs  Den,  there  are 
two  peaks,  formed  of  tree-covered  crags,  known  as 
the  Little  Round  Top  and  the  Big  Round  Top. 
These  long  parallel  ridges,  with  the  intervale  and 
the  country  immediately  around  them,  are  the  battle- 
field, which  the  topographical  configuration  well  dis- 
plays. It  covers  about  twenty -five  square  miles,  and 
lies  mainly  southwest  of  the  town. 

It  was  on  June  28th  that  General  Meade  unex- 
pectedly assumed  command  of  the  Union  army,  and 
he  was  then  near  the  Potomac.  General  Ewell  with 
the  Confederate  advance  guard  had  gone  up  the 
Cumberland  Valley  as  far  as  Carlisle,  and  his  troopers 
were  threatening  Harrisburg.  Nobody  had  opposed 
them,  and  the  Confederate  main  body,  which  had 
got  much  ahead  of  Hooker,  was  at  Chambersburg. 
Lee  being  far  from  his  base,  and  hearing  of  the  Union 
pursuit,  then  determined  to  face  about  and  cripple 
his  pursuers,  fixing  upon  Gettysburg  as  the  point  of 
concentration.  He  ordered  Ewell  to  march  south 
from  Carlisle,  and  the  other  commanders  east  from 
Chambersburg  through  the  mountain  passes.  The 
Union  cavalry  advance  under  General  Buford  reached 
Gettysburg  on  June  30th,  ahead  of  the  Confederates, 


130     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  Meade's  army  was  then  stretched  over  the 
ground  for  more  than  forty  miles  back  to  the  Po- 
tomac, all  coming  forward  by  forced  marches.  As 
soon  as  Meade  became  aware  of  Lee's  changed  tac- 
tics he  concluded  that  this  extended  formation  was 
too  risky,  and  decided  to  concentrate  in  a  strong 
position  upon  the  Pipe  Creek  hills  in  Maryland,  about 
fifteen  miles  south  of  Gettysburg,  and  issued  the 
necessary  orders.  Thus  the  battle  opened,  with  each 
army  executing  a  movement  for  concentration. 

THE   GREAT  BATTLE. 

The  battle  began  on  July  1st,  the  Union  Cavalry, 
which  had  gone  out  to  the  west  and  north  of  Gettys- 
burg, becoming  engaged  with  the  Confederate  ad- 
vance approaching  the  town  from  the  passes  through 
the  South  Mountain.  The  cavalry,  at  first  victori- 
ous, was  soon  overwhelmed  by  superior  numbers, 
and  infantry  supports  arrived,  under  General  Rey- 
nolds ;  but  he  was  killed,  and  they  were  all  driven 
back  and  through  Gettysburg  to  the  cemetery  and 
Culp's  Hill,  which  were  manned  by  fresh  troops  that 
had  come  up.  Meade  was  then  at  Pipe  Creek,  lay- 
ing out  a  defensive  line,  but  when  he  heard  of  Rey- 
nolds' death  and  the  defeat,  he  sent  General  Hancock 
forward  to  take  command,  who  decided  that  the 
Cemetery  Ridge  was  the  place  to  give  battle.  Ewell 
had  in  the  meantime  extended  the  Confederate  left 
wing   around    to  the   east  of   Culp's   Hill  and  held 


THE  GEEAT  BATTLE.  131 

Gettysburg,  but  active  operations  were  suspended, 
and  the  night  was  availed  of  by  both  sides  to  get 
their  forces  up  and  into  position,  which  was  mainly 
accomplished  by  morning. 

When  the  second  day,  July  2d,  opened,  the  armies 
confronted  each  other  in  line  of  battle.  The  Union 
troops  were  along  the  Cemetery  Ridge  and  the  Con- 
federates upon  the  Seminary  Ridge,  across  the  inter- 
vale to  the  west,  their  lines  also  stretching  around 
through  Gettysburg  to  the  north  of  the  cemetery, 
and  two  miles  east  along  the  base  of  Culp's  Hill.  In 
the  long  intervening  valley,  and  in  the  ravines  and 
upon  the  slopes  of  the  Cemetery  Ridge  and  Culp's 
Hill,  the  main  battle  was  fought.  The  attack  began 
by  General  Longstreet  advancing  against  the  two 
Round  Tops,  but  after  a  bloody  contest  he  was  re- 
pulsed. General  Sickles,  who  held  the  line  to  the 
south  of  the  Little  Round  Top,  then  thought  he  could 
improve  his  position  by  advancing  a  half-mile  into 
the  valley  towards  the  Seminary  Ridge,  thus  making 
a  broken  Union  line,  with  a  portion  dangerously 
thrust  forward.  The  enemy  soon  took  advantage 
of  this,  and  fell  upon  Sickles,  front  and  flank,  almost 
overwhelming  his  line  in  the  "  Peach  Orchard,"  and 
driving  it  back  to  the  adjacent  u  Wheat  Field."  Re- 
inforcements were  quickly  poured  in,  and  there  was 
a  hot  conflict,  Sickles  being  seriously  wounded  and 
his  troops  almost  cut  to  pieces.  About  the  same 
time  Ewell  made  a  terrific  charge  out  of  Gettysburg 


132     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

upon  the  Cemetery  and  Culp's  Hill,  with  the  "  Louisi- 
ana Tigers  v  and  other  troops,  effecting  a  lodgement, 
although  the  defending  soldiers  wrought  great  havoc 
by  a  heavy  cannonade.  The  Union  gunners  on  Lit- 
tle Round  Top  ultimately  cleared  the  "  Wheat  Field," 
and  then  the  combatants  rested.  Lee  was  much  in- 
spirited by  his  successes,  and  determined  to  renew 
the  attack  next  morning. 

Upon  the  third  and  last  day,  July  3d,  General 
Meade  opened  the  combat  early  in  the  morning  by 
driving  out  EwelPs  forces,  who  had  effected  a  lodge- 
ment on  Culp's  Hill.  General  Lee  did  not  learn  of 
this,  but  he  was  full  of  the  idea  that  both  the  Union 
centre  and  right  wing  had  been  weakened  the  pre- 
vious day,  and  during  the  night  he  planned  an  attack 
in  front,  to  be  accompanied  by  a  cavalry  movement 
around  the  Union  right  to  assail  the  rear,  thus  fol- 
lowing up  EwelPs  supposed  advantage.  To  give 
Stuart  with  the  cavalry  time  to  get  around  to  the 
rear,  the  front  attack  was  not  made  until  afternoon. 
During  the  morning  each  side  got  cannon  into  posi- 
tion, Lee  having  one  hundred  and  twenty  guns  along 
Seminary  Ridge,  and  Meade  eighty  in  the  Cemetery 
and  southward,  along  a  low,  irregular  stone  pile, 
forming  a  sort  of  rude  wall  bordering  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Gettysburg  south  to  Taneytown,  in  Mary- 
land. The  action  began  about  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  when  the  Confederates  opened  fire,  and 
the  most  terrific  artillery  duel  of  the  war  took  place 


THE  GREAT  BATTLE.  138 

across  the  intervening  valley,  six  guns  being  dis- 
charged every  second.  The  troops  suffered  little,  as 
they  kept  down  in  the  ground,  but  several  Union 
guns  were  dismounted.  After  two  hours  deafening 
cannonade  Lee  ordered  his  grand  attack,  the  cele- 
brated charge  by  General  Pickett,  a  force  of  fourteen 
thousand  men  with  brigade  front  advancing  across 
the  valley.  They  marched  swiftly,  and  had  a  mile 
to  go,  but  before  they  were  half-way  across  all  the 
available  Union  guns  had  been  trained  upon  them. 
Their  attack  was  directed  at  an  umbrella-shaped 
clump  of  trees  on  the  Cemetery  Ridge  at  a  low  place 
where  the  rude  stone  wall  made  an  angle,  with  its 
point  outside.  General  Hancock  commanded  this 
portion  of  the  Union  line.  The  grape  and  canister 
of  the  Union  cannonade  ploughed  furrows  through 
Pickett's  ranks,  and  when  his  column  got  within  three 
hundred  yards,  Hancock  opened  musketry  fire  with 
terrible  effect.  Thousands  fell,  and  the  brigades 
broke  in  disorder  ;  but  the  advance,  headed  by  Gen- 
eral Armistead  on  foot,  continued,  and  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men  leaped  over  the  stone  piles  at 
the  angle  to  capture  the  Union  guns.  Lieutenant 
Cushing,  mortally  wounded  in  both  thighs,  ran  his 
last  serviceable  gun  towards  the  wall,  and  shouting  to 
his  commander,  u  Webb,  I  will  give  them  one  more 
shot !"  he  fired  the  gun  and  died.  Armistead  put  his 
hand  on  the  cannon,  waved  his  sword,  and  called 
out,  "  Give  them  the  cold  steel,  boys  !"  then,  pierced 


134     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

by  bullets,  he  fell  dead  alongside  of  Cushing.  Both 
lay  near  the  clump  of  trees,  about  thirty  yards  inside 
the  wall,  their  corpses  marking  the  farthest  point  to 
which  Pickett's  advance  penetrated.  There  was  a 
hand  to  hand  conflict;  Webb  was  wounded,  and  also 
Hancock,  and  the  slaughter  was  dreadful.  The  Con- 
federates were  overwhelmed,  and  not  one-fourth  of 
the  gallant  charging  column,  composed  of  the  flower 
of  the  Virginia  troops,  escaped,  the  remnant  retreat- 
ing in  disorder.  Stuart's  cavalry  failed  to  cooperate 
as  intended,  having  met  the  Union  cavalry  about 
four  miles  to  the  east  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  conflict 
ensuing  prevented  their  attacking  the  Union  rear. 
After  Pickett's  retreat  there  was  a  general  Union  ad- 
vance, closing  the  combat. 

The  point  within  the  angle  of  the  stone  wall  where 
Cushing  and  Armistead  fell  has  been  commemorated 
by  what  is  known  as  the  "  High- Water  Mark  Monu- 
ment," for  it  was  placed  at  the  point  reached  by  the 
top  of  the  flood-tide  of  the  rebellion,  as  afterwards 
there  was  a  steady  ebb.  During  the  night  of  July 
3d  Lee  began  a  retreat,  and  aided  by  heavy  rains, 
usually  following  great  battles,  the  Confederates  next 
day  withdrew  through  the  mountain  passes  towards 
Hagerstown,  and  afterwards  escaped  across  the  Po- 
tomac. Upon  the  day  of  Lee's  retreat,  Vicksburg 
surrendered  to  General  Grant,  and  these  two  events 
began  the  Confederacy's  downfall.  There  were  en- 
gaged in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  about  eighty  thou- 


THE  GETTYSBUKG  MONUMENTS.  135 

sand  men  on  each  side,  the  Union  army  having  three 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  cannon  and  the  Confeder- 
ates two  hundred  and  ninety-three.  It  was  the  larg- 
est battle  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  actual  numbers  en- 
gaged, and  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested.  The 
Union  loss  was  twenty-three  thousand  and  three 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  and  the  Confederate 
loss  twenty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight. 

THE    GETTYSBURG    MONUMENTS. 

The  battlefield  of  Gettysburg  is  better  marked, 
both  topographically  and  by  monuments,  than  prob- 
ably any  other  battlefield  in  the  world.  Over  a  mil- 
lion dollars  have  been  expended  on  the  grounds  and 
monuments.  The  "  Gettysburg  Battlefield  Memorial 
Association,"  representing  the  soldiers  engaged,  has 
marked  all  the  important  points,  and  the  tracts  along 
the  lines,  over  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  have  been 
acquired,  so  as  to  thoroughly  preserve  all  the  land- 
marks where  the  most  important  movements  were 
executed.  There  are  some  five  hundred  monuments 
upon  the  field,  placed  with  the  utmost  care  in  the 
exact  localities,  and  standing  in  woods  or  on  open 
ground,  by  the  roadsides,  on  stony  heights  and  ridges 
in  gardens,  and  of  all  designs,  executed  in  bronze,, 
marble,  granite,  on  boulders  and  otherwise.  Marking- 
posts  also  designate  the  positions  of  the  various  or- 
ganizations in  the  opposing  armies.  To  the  north 
fend  west  of  Gettysburg  is  the  scene  of  the  first  day's 


136     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

contest,  but  the  more  interesting  part  is  to  the  south- 
ward. Ascending  the  Cemetery  Hill,  there  is  passed, 
by  the  roadside,  the  house  of  Jenny  Wade,  the  only 
woman  killed  in  the  battle,  accidentally  shot  while 
baking  bread.  The  rounded  Cemetery  Hill  is  an 
elevated  and  strong  position  having  many  monu- 
ments, and  here,  alongside  the  little  village  grave- 
yard, the  Government  established  a  National  Ceme- 
tery of  seventeen  acres,  where  thirty-five  hundred 
and  seventy-two  soldiers  are  buried,  over  a  thousand 
being  the  unknown  dead.  A  magnificent  battle 
monument  is  here  erected,  surmounted  by  a  statue 
of  Liberty,  and  at  the  base  of  the  shaft  having  figures 
of  War,  History,  Peace  and  Plenty.  This  charming 
spot  was  the  centre  of  the  Union  line,  then  a  rough, 
rocky  hill.  The  cemetery  was  dedicated  in  Novem- 
ber, 1863,  Edward  Everett  delivering  the  oration, 
and  the  monument  on  July  1,  1869.  At  the  ceme- 
tery dedication  President  Lincoln  made  the  famous 
a  twenty-line  address v  which  is  regarded  as  the 
most  immortal  utterance  of  the  martyr  President, 
and  has  become  an  American  classic.  The  British 
Westminster  Review  described  it  as  an  oration  having 
but  one  equal,  in  that  pronounced  upon  those  who 
fell  during  the  first  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War, 
and  as  being  its  superior,  because  u  natural,  fuller  of 
feeling,  more  touching  and  pathetic,  and  we  know 
with  an  absolute  certainty  that  it  was  really  de- 
livered."    The  President  was  requested  to  say  a  few 


THE  GETTYSBUKG  MONUMENTS.  137 

words  by  way  of  dedication,  and  drawing  from  his 
pocket  a  crumpled  piece  of  paper  on  which  he  had 
written  some  notes,  he  spoke  as  follows : 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  Nation, 
conceived  in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition 
that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged 
in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation  or 
any  nation,  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long 
endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that 
war.  We  are  met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the 
final  resting-place  of  those  who  here  gave  their  lives 
that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting 
and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But,  in  a  larger 
sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we 
cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it 
far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world 
will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here, 
but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for 
us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  un- 
finished work  that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  car- 
ried on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  the  cause 
for  which  they  here  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  de- 
votion— that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  the  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  the  nation  shall, 
under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that 


138     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the 
people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

A  mile  across  the  valley  the  Lutheran  Seminary  is 
seen,  the  most  conspicuous  landmark  of  the  Confed- 
erate line.  To  the  southeast  from  the  cemetery  is 
Culp's  Hill,  strewn  with  rocks  and  boulders  and  cov- 
ered with  trees.  The  Emmettsburg  road  goes  south- 
ward down  the  valley,  gradually  diverging  from  the 
Union  line,  and  crossing  the  fields  that  were  the 
battleground  on  the  second  and  third  days.  It  is 
bordered  by  numerous  monuments,  some  of  great 
merit,  and  leads  to  the  u  Peach  Orchard/'  where  the 
line  bends  sharply  back.  Peach  trees  are  replanted 
here  as  the  old  ones  fall.  The  "Wheat  Field"  is 
alongside,  now  grass-grown.  Beyond  it  the  surface 
goes  down  among  the  crags  and  broken  stones  of  the 
"DeviPs  Den,"  a  ravine  through  which  flows  a 
stream,  coming  from  the  orchard  and  wheat  field, 
and  separating  them  from  the  rocky  u  Round  Tops," 
the  sandstone  cliffs  of  the  "Little  Round  Top" 
rising  high  above  the  ravine.  The  fields  sloping  to 
the  stream  above  the  Den  are  known  as  the  "  Valley 
of  Death."  Among  these  rocks  there  are  many 
monuments,  made  of  the  boulders  that  are  so  numer- 
ous. A  toilsome  path  mounts  the  a  Big  Round  Top  " 
beyond,  and  an  Observatory  on  the  summit  gives  a 
good  view  over  almost  the  entire  battlefield.  This 
summit,  more  than  three  miles  south  of  Gettysburg, 
has  tall  timber,  preserved  as  it  was  in  the  battle. 


THE  GETTYSBUEG  MONUMENT&  189 

There  are  cannon  surmounting  the  u  Round  Tops,* 
representing  the  batteries  in  action.  Across  the 
valley  to  the  west  is  the  long  fringe  of  timber  that 
masked  the  Confederate  position  on  Seminary  Ridge. 
A  picnic-ground,  with  access  by  railway,  is  located 
alongside  the  "  Round  Tops."  The  lines  of  breast- 
works are  maintained,  and  upon  the  lower  ground, 
not  far  away,  are  preserved  the  rough  stone  walls, 
and  to  the  northward  is  the  little  umbrella-shaped 
grove  of  trees  at  which  Pickett's  charge  was  directed. 
The  Twentieth  Massachusetts  regiment  brought  here 
a  huge  conglomerate  boulder  from  New  England  and 
set  it  up  as  their  monument,  their  Colonel,  Paul 
Revere,  being  killed  in  the  battle. 

There  was  no  fighting  along  the  Confederate  line 
on  Seminary  Ridge  until  the  scene  of  the  first  day's 
conflict  is  reached,  to  the  northwest  of  Gettysburg. 
Here  is  marked  where  General  Reynolds  fell,  just 
within  a  grove  of  trees,  and  a  fine  equestrian  statue 
of  him  has  been  erected  on  the  field.  From  his  un- 
timely death,  Reynolds  is  regarded  as  the  special 
Union  hero  of  the  battle,  as  Armistead  was  the 
Southern.  Nearby  a  spirited  statue,  the  u  Massachu- 
setts Color-Bearer,"  holds  aloft  the  flag  of  the  Thir- 
teenth Massachusetts  regiment,  standing  upon  a  slope, 
thus  marking  the  spot  where  he  fell  at  the  opening 
of  the  conflict.  Such  is  the  broad  and  impressive 
scene  of  one  of  the  leading  battles  of  the  world,  and 
the  greatest  ever  fought  in  America.  But  happily 
Vol.  1—7 


140     AMEKICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

the  passions  which  caused  it  have  been  stilled,  and 
the  combatants  are  now  again  united  in  their  patri- 
otic devotion  to  a  common  country.  As  Longfellow 
solemnly  sounds  his  invocation  in  the  Building  of  the 
Ship j  so  now  do  all  the  people  in  the  reunited  Union : 

"Thus  too,  sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State  ! 
Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great  I 
Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 
Xb  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate  1" 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DELAWARE 


m. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DELAWARE. 

Delaware  Bay — Cape  May— Cape  Henlopen — Delaware  Break- 
water— Maurice  River  Cove — The  Pea  Patch — Newcastle- 
Mason  and  Dixon's  Line — Fort  Christina — Wilmington — 
The  Duponts — Brandywine — William  Penn — West  Jersey — 
Pennsylvania— Upland— The  Ship  "Welcome"— Philadel- 
phia—Shackamaxon — The  Lenni  Lenapes— The  City  Hall — 
Independence  Hall — Benjamin  Franklin — Betsy  Ross  and 
the  American  Flag — Stephen  Girard — Girard  College— Nota- 
ble Charities  and  Buildings — Christ  Church — Old  Swedes' 
Church — Longfellow's  Evangeline — Cathedral  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul — University  of  Pennsylvania — City  of  Homes — 
John  Bartram  and  his  Garden — Fairmount  Park — Laurel 
Hill — Wissahickon  Creek — Germantown — Johannes  Kelpius 
— The  Schuylkill  River — Tom  Moore — Pennsylvania  Dutch — 
Valley  Forge — Reading — Port  Clinton — Pottsville — Anthra- 
cite Coal-fields — New  Jersey  Coast  Resorts — Atlantic  City — 
Ocean  Grove — Asbury  Park — Long  Branch — St.  Tammany — 
Poquessing — Rancocas — The  Neshaminy — The  Log  College — 
Bristol — Burlington — Pennsbury  Manor — Bordentown — Ad- 
miral Stewart — Joseph  Bonaparte — Camden  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road— Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal — Trenton  Gravel — Tren- 
ton, its  Potteries,  Crackers  and  Battle — The  Swamp  Angel — 
Morrisville — General  Moreau — Princeton  and  its  Battle — 
General  Mercer — Princeton  University — Jonathan  Edwards 
— Marshall's  Walk — Pennsylvania  Palisades — Forks  of  the 
Delaware — Easton — Lafayette  College — Ario  Pardee — Phil- 
lipsburg — Morris  Canal— Lake  Hopatcong — Lehigh  River— 
Bethlehem — Lehigh  University— The  Moravians — Count  Zin- 
zendorf — Teedyuscung  —  Allentown  —  Lehigh  Gap  — Mauch 
Chunk  —  Asa  Packer  —  Coal  Mining — Summit  Hill — The 

(143) 


144     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTfYE. 

Switchback  —  Nescopec  Mountain  —  Wyoming  Valley  — 
Wilkesbarre — Harvey's  Lake — Scranton — Wyoming  Massacre 
—The  Foul  Rift— The  Terminal  Moraine— The  Great  Gla- 
cier—Belvidere— Delaware  Water  Gap — The  Wind  Gap — 
Minsi  and  Tammany — The  Minisink — The  Buried  Valleys — 
Nicholas  Depui  —  George  La  Bar  —  Stroudsburg  —  Pocono 
Knob — Bushkill — Walpack  Bend — Pike  County — Dingman's 
Choice— Waterfalls— Milford— Tom  Quick,  the  Indian  Killer 
— Tri-States  Corner — Neversink  River — Port  Jervis — Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  Canal — High  Point — The  Catskill  Flags — 
Hawk's  Nest— Shohola — The  Lackawaxen  and  its  Battle — 
The  Sylvania  Society — Horace  Greeley — Blooming  Grove — 
Pocono  High  Knob — Hawley — The  Wallenpaupack — The  In- 
dian Orchard — Honesdale — Washington  Irving — The  Gravity 
Railroad — Carbondale — Mast  Hope — Narrowsburg — Cochec- 
ton  —  Hancock  —  Delaware  Headwaters — Popacton  River — 
Mohock  River — Deposit — Oquaga  Creek  and  Lake — Lake 
Utsyanthia — Ote-se-on-teo,  Source  of  the  Delaware. 

DELAWARE   BAY. 

The  famous  navigator  of  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company,  Hendrick  Hudson,  was  the  first  white  man 
who  entered  Delaware  Bay.  He  discovered  it  on 
August  28,  1609,  two  weeks  before  he  entered 
Sandy  Hook  Bay  and  found  the  Hudson  River. 
When  Thomas  West,  Lord  De  La  Warr,  Governor 
of  Virginia,  was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  the 
bay  in  1611,  his  name  was  given  the  river.  In 
1614  another  redoubtable  old  skipper  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  Captain  Carolis  Jacobsen  Mey, 
searching,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  navigators  of  those 
days,  for  the  northwest  passage  to  Asia  and  the  In- 
dies, came  along  there  with  a  small  fleet  of  sixty-ton 


DELAWARE  BAY.  145 

frigates,  and  tried  to  give  the  river  and  its  capes  his 
names ;  but  only  one  of  these  has  survived,  Cape 
May.  The  southern  portal  at  the  entrance,  which  he 
wished  to  make  Cape  Carolis,  was  named  a  few 
years  afterwards,  by  the  Swedes,  Cape  Henlopen. 
The  Indians  called  the  river  u  Lenape-wihituck," 
or  the  "  river  of  the  Lenapes,"  meaning  "  the  origi- 
nal people,"  or,  as  sometimes  translated,  the  "  manly 
men,"  the  name  of  the  aboriginal  confederation  that 
dwelt  upon  its  banks.  It  had  various  other  names, 
for  when  the  Swedes  came,  the  Indians  about  the  bay 
called  it  "  Pantoxet."  In  an  early  deed  to  William 
Penn  it  is  called  "  Mackeriskickon,"  and  in  another 
document  the  "  Zunikoway."  Some  of  the  tribes  up 
the  river  named  it  u  Kithanue,"  meaning  the  "  main 
stem,"  as  distinguished  from  its  tributaries,  and 
those  on  the  upper  waters  called  it  the  "Lemase- 
pose,"  or  the  "  Fish  River,"  for  the  Upper  Delaware 
was  then  a  famous  salmon  stream,  and  its  early 
Dutch  explorers  thus  came  to  calling  it  the  "  Fish 
River  "  also.  The  Delaware,  from  its  source  in  the 
Catskills  to  the  sea,  is  about  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  in  length. 

The  estuary  of  Delaware  Bay  is  about  sixty  miles 
long  and  thirty  miles  broad  in  the  widest  part,  con- 
tracting towards  the  north  to  less  than  five  miles. 
The  capes  at  the  entrance  are  about  fifteen  miles 
apart.  As  a  protection  to  shipping,  the  Government 
began,  on  the   Cape  Henlopen  side,  in  1829,  the 


146     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

construction  of  the  famous  Delaware  Breakwater. 
It  consists  of  a  stone  breakwater  about  twenty-six 
hundred  feet  long  facing  the  northeast,  and  an  ice- 
breaker about  fourteen  hundred  feet  long,  at  right 
angles,  facing  the  upper  bay.  These  were  completed 
in  1870,  there  being  an  opening  between  them  of 
about  sixteen  hundred  feet  width,  which  was  after- 
wards filled  up.  The  surface  protected  covers  three 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  the  whole  work  cost 
about  $3,500,000.  It  was  estimated  in  1871  that 
fully  twenty  thousand  vessels  every  year  availed 
of  the  protection  of  this  breakwater,  the  depth  of 
water  being  twenty-four  feet  behind  it — sufficient  for 
most  of  the  shipping  of  that  day.  But  as  vessels 
have  become  larger  and  of  deeper  draft,  they  have 
not  been  able  to  use  it,  and  the  Government  has  re- 
cently begun  the  construction  of  another  and  larger 
breakwater  for  a  harbor  of  refuge  in  deeper  water 
adjoining  the  regular  ship  channel,  some  distance  to 
the  northward.  Delaware  Bay  divides  the  States  of 
Delaware  and  New  Jersey.  The  first  settlement  in 
Delaware  was  made  by  the  Dutch  near  Lewes  in 
1630,  but  the  Indians  destroyed  the  colony  ;  and  in 
1638  a  colony  of  Swedes  and  Finns  came  out  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Swedish  West  India  Company, 
landed  and  named  Cape  Henlopen,  and  purchased 
from  the  Indians  all  the  land  from  there  up  to  the 
falls  at  Trenton,  finally  locating  their  fort  near  the 
mouth  of  Christiana  Creek,  and  naming  the  country 


DELAWARE  BAY.  147 

Nya  Sveriga,  or  New  Sweden.  The  Swedes  and 
Dutch  quarrelled  about  their  respective  rights  until 
New  York  was  taken  by  the  English  in  1664,  after 
which  England  controlled.  The  first  settlement  in 
New  Jersey  was  made  by  Captains  Mey  and  Jorisz 
in  1623,  who  built  the  Dutch  Fort  Nassau  a  short 
distance  below  Philadelphia ;  but  it  did  not  last. 

Delaware  Bay  is  an  expansive  inland  sea,  subject 
to  fierce  storms,  and  broadening  on  its  eastern  side 
into  Maurice  River  Cove,  noted  for  its  oysters.  A 
deep  ship  channel  conducts  commerce  through  the 
centre  of  the  bay,  marked  by  lighthouses  built  out 
on  mid-bay  shoals,  and,  as  the  shores  approach,  by 
range  lights  on  the  banks,  the  Delaware  Bay  and 
River  being  regarded  as  the  best  marked  and  lighted 
stream  in  the  country.  Up  at  the  head  of  the  bay, 
years  ago,  a  ship  loaded  with  peas  and  beans  sank, 
and  this  in  time  made  at  first  a  shoal,  and  afterwards 
an  island,  since  known  as  the  "  Pea  Patch."  Here 
and  on  the  adjacent  shores  the  Government  has  lately 
erected  formidable  forts,  which  make,  with  their  tor- 
pedo stations  in  the  channel,  a  complete  system  of 
defensive  works  in  the  Delaware,  first  put  into  active 
occupation  during  the  Spanish  War  of  1898,  as  a  pro- 
tection against  a  hostile  fleet  entering  the  river.  Over 
in  the  u  Diamond  State  "  of  Delaware,  near  here,  on 
the  river  shore,  is  the  aged  town  of  Newcastle,  quiet 
and  yet  attractive,  having  in  operation,  and  evidently 
to  the  popular  satisfaction,  the  whipping-post  and 


148     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

stocks,  a  method  of  punishment  which  is  a  terror  to 
all  evil-doers,  and  is  said  to  be  most  successful  in  pre- 
venting crime,  as  thieves  and  marauders  give  New- 
castle a  wide  berth.  This  was  originally  a  Swedish 
settlement,  the  standard  of  the  great  Gustavus 
Adolphus  being  unfurled  there  in  1640,  when  it 
was  called  Sandhuken,  or  Sandy  Hook,  it  being  a 
point  of  land  jutting  out  between  two  little  creeks. 
The  Dutch  soon  captured  it,  changing  the  name  to 
New  Amstel ;  and  about  1670  the  settlement,  then 
containing  nearly  a  hundred  houses,  became  New 
Castle,  under  English  auspices.  The  northern  bound- 
ary of  the  State  of  Delaware,  dividing  it  from  Penn- 
sylvania, is  an  arc  of  a  circle,  made  by  a  radius  of 
twelve  miles  described  around  the  old  Court  House 
at  Newcastle,  which  still  has  in  its  tower  the  bell  pre- 
sented by  Queen  Anne. 


In  coming  over  by  railroad  from  the  Chesapeake 
to  the  Delaware,  the  train,  after  crossing  the  broad 
Susquehanna  and  the  head  of  Elk,  and  rounding  in 
Maryland  the  Northeast  Arm  of  Chesapeake  Bay, 
soon  enters  the  State  of  Delaware  near  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  the  former  State.  This  corner  is 
at  the  termination  of  the  crescent-shaped  northern 
boundary  of  Delaware.  The  northern  boundary  of 
Maryland  here  beginning  and  laid  down  due  west,  to 
separate  it  from  Pennsylvania,  is  the  famous  "  Mason 


MASON  AND  DIXON'S  LINE.  149 

and  Dixon's  Line,"  surveyed  by  Charles  Mason  and 
Jeremiah  Dixon,  two  noted  English  mathematicians 
and  astronomers  in  the  eighteenth  century.  This 
boundary  gained  great  notoriety  because  it  so  long 
marked  the  northern  limit  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States.  For  almost  a  century  there  were  conflicts 
about  their  respective  limits  between  the  rival  pro- 
prietaries of  the  two  States,  producing  sometimes  riot 
and  bloodshed,  until,  in  1763,  these  men  were  brought 
over  from  England,  and  in  December  began  laying 
out  the  line  on  the  parallel  of  latitude  39°  43'  26.3" 
North.  They  were  at  the  work  several  years,  sur- 
veying the  line  two  hundred  and  forty-four  miles  west 
from  the  Delaware  River,  and  within  thirty-six  miles 
of  the  entire  distance  to  be  run,  when  the  French  and 
Indian  troubles  began,  and  they  were  attacked  and 
driven  off,  returning  to  Philadelphia  in  December, 
1767.  At  the  end  of  every  fifth  mile  a  stone  was 
planted,  graven  with  the  arms  of  the  Penn  family  on 
one  side  and  of  Lord  Baltimore  on  the  other.  The 
intermediate  miles  were  marked  by  smaller  stones, 
having  a  P  on  one  side  and  an  M  on  the  other,  all 
the  stones  thus  used  for  monuments  being  sent  out 
from  England.  After  the  Revolution,  in  1782,  the 
remainder  of  the  line  was  laid  down,  and  in  1849 
the  original  surveys  were  revised  and  found  substan- 
tially correct. 

When  the  little  colony  of  Swedes  and  Finns  under 
Peter  Minuet  came  into  Christiana  Creek  in  April, 


160     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

1638,  and  established  their  fort,  they  began  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  the  valley  of  the  Delaware. 
It  was  built  upon  a  small  rocky  promontory,  and  they 
named  it  Christina,  in  honor  of  the  daughter  of  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus.  The  Dutch  afterwards  captured  it 
and  called  it  Fort  Altena  j  but  the  town  retained  part 
of  the  original  name  in  Christinaham,  and  the  creek 
also  retained  the  name,  the  English  taking  possession 
in  1664.  The  Swedes,  however,  regardless  of  the 
flag  that  might  wave  over  them,  still  remained ;  and 
their  old  stone  church,  built  in  1698,  still  stands,  down 
near  the  promontory  by  the  waterside,  in  a  yard 
filled  with  time-worn  gravestones.  This  old  Swedes' 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  oldest  now  on  the 
Delaware,  was  dedicated  on  Trinity  Sunday,  1699, 
and  Rev.  Ericus  Tobias  Biorck  came  out  from  Sweden 
to  take  charge  as  rector.  It  was  sixty  by  thirty  feet 
and  twenty  feet  high,  and  a  little  bell  tower  was 
afterwards  added.  The  ancient  church  was  recently 
thoroughly  restored  to  its  original  condition,  with 
brick  floor,  oaken  benches,  and  stout  rafters  support- 
ing the  roof. .  This  interesting  church  building  is  in 
a  factory  district  which  is  now  part  of  Wilmington, 
the  chief  city  of  Delaware,  a  busy  manufacturing 
community  of  sixty-five  thousand  people,  built  on 
the  Christiana  and  Brandywine  Creeks,  which  unite 
about  a  mile  from  the  Delaware.  This  active  city 
was  laid  out  above  the  old  settlement,  in  1731,  by 
William   Shipley,   who    came   from  Leicestershire, 


WILLIAM  PENN.  151 

England.  Ships,  railway  cars  and  gunpowder  are 
the  chief  manufactures  of  Wilmington.  The  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  in  a  distance  of  four  miles,  terminating 
in  the  city,  falls  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  pro- 
viding a  great  water  power.  Up  this  stream  are  the 
extensive  Dupont  powder-mills,  among  the  largest  in 
the  world,  founded  by  the  French  statesman  and 
economist,  Pierre  Samuel  D.u  Pont  De  Nemours, 
who,  after  the  vicissitudes  of  the  French  Revolution, 
migrated  with  his  family  to  the  United  States  in 
1799,  and  was  received  with  distinguished  consider- 
ation. He  afterwards  was  instrumental  in  securing 
the  treaty  of  1803  by  which  France  ceded  Louisi- 
ana, and  was  in  the  service  of  Napoleon,  but  finally 
returned  to  America,  where  his  sons  were  conducting 
the  powder-works,  and  he  died  near  Wilmington  in 
1817.  Admiral  Samuel  Francis  Dupont,  of  the 
American  Navy,  was  his  grandson.  Farther  up  the 
Brandywine  Creek,  at  Chadd's  Ford  and  vicinity, 
was  fought,  in  September,  1777,  the  battle  of  the 
Brandywine,  where  the  English  victory  enabled  them 
to  subsequently  take  possession  of  Philadelphia. 

WILLIAM   PENN. 

Above  Wilmington,  the  Delaware  River  is  a  noble 
tidal  stream  of  about  a  mile  wide,  flowing  between 
gently  sloping  shores,  and  carrying  an  extensive 
commerce.  The  great  river  soon  brings  us  to  the 
famous  Quaker  settlements  of  Pennsylvania.     Wil- 


152     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Ham  Penn,  who  had  become  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  was  bequeathed  by  his  father,  Admiral 
Sir  William  Perm,  an  estate  of  £1500  a  year  and 
large  claims  against  the  British  Government.  Fen- 
wick  and  Byllinge,  both  Quakers,  who  had  propri- 
etary rights  in  New  Jersey,  disputed  in  1674,  and 
submitted  their  difference  to  Penn's  arbitration.  He 
decided  in  favor  of  Byllinge,  who  subsequently  be- 
came embarrassed,  and  made  over  his  property  to 
Penn  and  two  creditors  as  trustees.  This  seems  to 
have  turned  Penn's  attention  to  America  as  a  place 
of  settlement  for  the  persecuted  Quakers,  and  he  en- 
gaged with  zeal  in  the  work  of  colonization,  and  in 
1681  obtained  from  the  king,  for  himself  and  heirs, 
in  payment  of  a  debt  of  £16,000  due  his  father,  a 
patent  for  the  territory  now  forming  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  fealty  of  the  annual  payment  of  two  beaver 
skins.  He  wanted  to  call  his  territory  New  Wales, 
as  many  of  the  colonists  came  from  there,  and  after- 
wards suggested  Sylvania  as  specially  applicable  to 
a  land  covered  with  forests  ;  but  the  king  ordered  the 
name  Pennsylvania  inserted  in  the  grant,  in  honor, 
as  he  said,  of  his  late  friend  the  Admiral.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1682,  Penn,  with  eleven  others,  purchased 
West  Jersey,  already  colonized  to  some  extent. 
Tradition  says  that  some  of  these  West  Jersey  colo- 
nists sent  Penn  a  sod  in  which  was  planted  a  green 
twig,  to  show  that  he  owned  the  land  and  all  that 
grew  upon  it.     Next  they  presented  him  with  a  dish 


WILLIAM  PENN.  153 

full  of  water,  because  he  was  master  of  the  seas  and 
rivers ;  and  then  they  gave  him  the  keys,  to  show  he 
was  in  command  and  had  all  the  power. 

When  William  Penn  was  granted  his  province,  he 
wrote  that  u  after  many  waitings,  watchings,  solicit- 
ings  and  disputes  in  council,  this  day  my  country  was 
confirmed  to  me  under  the  great  seal  of  England." 
He  had  great  hopes  for  its  future,  for  he  subsequently 
wrote :  "  God  will  bless  and  make  it  the  seed  of  a 
nation  j  I  shall  have  a  tender  care  of  the  govern- 
ment that  it  will  be  well  laid  at  first."  Some  of  the 
Swedes  from  Christina  had  come  up  the  river  in 
1643  and  settled  at  the  mouth  of  Chester  Creek,  at  a 
place  called  Upland.  The  site  was  an  eligible  one, 
and  the  first  parties  of  Quakers,  coming  out  in  three 
ships,  settled  there,  living  in  caves  which  they  dug 
in  the  river  bank,  these  caves  remaining  for  many 
years  after  they  had  built  houses.  Penn  drew  up  a 
liberal  scheme  of  government  and  laws  for  his  colony, 
in  which  he  is  said  to  have  had  the  aid  of  Henry,  the 
brother  of  Algernon  Sidney,  and  of  Sir  William 
Jones.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  Upland,  however, 
as  his  permanent  place  of  settlement,  but  directed 
that  another  site  be  chosen  higher  up  the  Delaware, 
at  some  point  where  "  it  is  most  navigable,  high,  dry 
and  healthy ;  that  is,  where  most  ships  can  best  ride, 
of  deepest  draught  of  water,  if  possible,  to  load  or 
unload,  at  the  bank  or  key-side,  without  boating  or 
lightening  of  it."     This  site  being  selected  between 


154     AMERICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill  Rivers,  and  the  city  laid 
out,  Penn,  with  about  a  hundred  companions,  mostly 
Welsh  Quakers,  in  September,  1682,  embarked  for 
the  Delaware  on  the  ship  "  Welcome,"  arriving  at 
Upland  after  a  six  weeks'  voyage,  and  then  going  up 
to  his  city  site,  which  he  named  Philadelphia,  the 
"  City  of  Brotherly  Love." 

The  first  explorers  of  the  Delaware  River  found 
located  upon  the  site  of  Philadelphia  the  Indian  set- 
tlement of  Coquanock,  or  "the  grove  of  long  pine 
trees,"  a  sort  of  capital  city  for  the  Lenni  Lenapes. 
Their  great  chief  was  Tamanend,  and  the  primeval 
forest,  largely  composed  of  noble  pine  trees,  then  cov- 
ered all  the  shores  of  the  river.  The  ship  "  Shield," 
from  England,  with  Quaker  colonists  for  Burlington, 
in  West  Jersey,  higher  up  the  river,  sailed  past 
Coquanock  in  1679,  and  a  note  was  made  that  "  part 
of  the  tackling  struck  the  trees,  whereupon  some  on 
board  reniarked  that  i  it  was  a  fine  spot  for  a  town.' " 
When  Penn  sent  out  his  advance  agent  and  Deputy 
Governor,  Captain  William  Markham,  of  the  British 
army,  in  his  scarlet  uniform,  to  lay  out  the  plan  of 
his  projected  city,  he  wrote  him  to  u  be  tender  of 
offending  the  Indians,"  and  gave  instructions  that  the 
houses  should  have  open  grounds  around  them,  as  he 
wished  the  new  settlement  to  be  "  a  green  country 
town,"  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  healthy,  and  free 
from  the  danger  of  extensive  conflagrations.  Penn 
bought  the  land  farther  down  the  Delaware  from  the 


WILLIAM  PENN.  155 

Swedes,  who  had  originally  bought  it  from  the  In- 
dians, and  the  site  for  his  city  he  bought  from  the 
Indians  direct.  They  called  him  Mignon,  and  the 
Iroquois,  who  subsequently  made  treaties  with  him, 
called  him  Onas,  both  words  signifying  a  quill  pen, 
as  they  recognized  the  meaning  of  his  name.  Out  on 
the  Delaware,  in  what  is  now  the  Kensington  ship- 
building district,  is  the  "neutral  land  of  Shacka- 
maxon."  This  words  means,  in  the  Indian  dialect, 
the  "  place  of  eels."  Here,  for  centuries  before 
Penn's  arrival,  the  Indian  tribes  from  all  the  region 
east  of  the  Alleghenies,  between  the  Great  Lakes, 
the  Hudson  River  and  the  Potomac,  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  kindle  their  council  fires,  smoke  the  pipe 
of  deliberation,  exchange  the  wampum  belts  of  ex- 
planation and  treaty,  and  make  bargains.  Some 
came  by  long  trails  hundreds  of  miles  overland 
through  the  woods,  and  some  in  their  birch  canoes  by 
water  and  portage.  It  was  on  this  "  neutral  ground  n 
by  the  riverside  that  Penn,  soon  after  his  arrival, 
held  his  solemn  council  with  the  Indians,  sealing 
mutual  faith  and  securing  their  lifelong  friendship  for 
his  infant  colony.  This  treaty,  embalmed  in  history 
and  on  canvas,  was  probably  made  in  November, 
1682,  under  the  "Treaty  Elm"  at  Shackamaxon, 
which  was  blown  down  in  1810,  the  place  where  it 
stood  by  the  river  being  now  preserved  as  a  park. 
Its  location  is  marked  by  a  monument  bearing  the 
eignificant  inscription :  u  Treaty  Ground  of  William 


156     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Penn  and  the  Indian  Nation,  1682 — Unbroken 
Faith."  Thus  began  Penn's  City  of  Brotherly  Love, 
based  on  a  compact  which,  in  the  words  of  Voltaire, 
was  u  never  sworn  to  and  never  broken."  It  is  no 
wonder  that  Penn,  after  he  had  seen  his  city  site,  and 
had  made  his  treaty,  was  so  abundantly  pleased  that 
he  wrote : 

"  As  to  outward  things,  we  are  satisfied,  the  land 
good,  the  air  clear  and  sweet,  the  springs  plentiful, 
and  provision  good  and  easy  to  come  at,  an  innumer- 
able quantity  of  wild  fowl  and  fish  j  in  fine,  here  is 
what  an  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  would  be  well 
contented  with,  and  service  enough  for  God,  for  the 
fields  here  are  white  '  for  harvest.  O,  how  sweet  is 
the  quiet  of  these  parts,  freed  from  the  anxious  and 
troublesome  solicitations,  harries  and  perplexities  of 
woeful  Europe." 

The  Lenni  Lenapes,  it  is  stated,  told  Penn  and  his 
people  that  they  often  spoke  of  themselves  as  the 
Wapanachki,  or  the  "  men  of  the  morning,"  in  allu- 
sion to  their  supposed  origin  in  the  lands  to  the  east- 
ward, towards  the  rising  sun.  Their  tradition  was 
that  at  the  time  America  was  discovered,  their  nation 
lived  on  the  island  of  New  York.  They  called  it 
Manahatouh,  "the  place  where  timber  is  got  for 
bows  and  arrows."  At  the  lower  end  of  the  island 
was  a  grove  of  hickory  trees  of  peculiar  strength 
and  toughness.  This  timber  was  highly  esteemed 
for  constructing  bows,  arrows,  war-clubs,  etc.    When 


THE  QUAKEE  CITY.  157 

they  migrated  westward  they  divided  into  two  bands. 
One,  going  to  the  upper  Delaware,  among  the  moun- 
tains, was  termed  Minsi,  or  "  the  great  stone  f  and 
the  other  band,  seeking  the  bay  and  lower  river, 
was  called  Wenawmien,  or  u  down  the  river."  These 
Indians  originated  the  name  of  the  Allegheny  Moun- 
tains, which  they  called  the  Allickewany,  the  word 
meaning  "  He  leaves  us  and  may  never  return  " — it 
is  supposed  in  reference  to  departing  hunters  or  war- 
riors who  went  into  the  mountain  passes. 

THE   QUAKER   CITY. 

The  great  city  thus  founded  by  William  Penn  is 
built  chiefly  upon  a  broad  plain  between  the  Dela- 
ware and  Schuylkill  Rivers,  about  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  sea,  and  upon  the  undulating  surface  to  the 
north  and  west.  The  shape  of  the  city  is  much  like 
an  hour-glass,  between  the  rivers,  although  it  spreads 
far  west  of  the  Schuylkill.  The  Delaware  River,  in 
front  of  the  built-up  portion,  sweeps  around  a  grand 
curve  from  northeast  to  south,  and  then,  reversing 
the  movement,  flows  around  the  Horseshoe  Bend 
below  the  city,  from  south  to  west,  to  meet  the 
Schuylkill.  The  railway  and  commercial  facilities, 
the  proximity  to  the  coal-fields,  and  the  ample  room 
to  spread  in  all  directions,  added  to  the  cheapness  of 
living,  have  made  Philadelphia  the  greatest  manufac- 
turing city  in  the  world,  and  attracted  to  it  1,300,000 
inhabitants.     The  alluvial  character  of  the  shores  of 


158     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  two  rivers  surrounds  the  city  with  a  region  of 
the  richest  market  gardens,  and  the  adjoining  coun- 
ties are  a  wealthy  agricultural  and  dairy  section. 
Clay,  underlying  a  large  part  of  the  surface,  has  fur- 
nished the  bricks  to  build  much  of  the  town.  Most 
of  the  people  own  their  homes ;  there  are  over  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dwellings  and  a  thousand 
miles  of  paved  streets,  and  new  houses  are  put  up  by 
the  thousands  every  year  as  additional  territory  is 
absorbed.  When  Penn  laid  out  his  town-plan,  he 
made  two  broad  highways  pointing  towards  the  car- 
dinal points  of  the  compass  and  crossing  at  right 
angles  in  the  centre,  where  he  located  a  public  square 
of  ten  acres.  The  east  and  west  street,  one  hundred 
feet  wide,  he  placed  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  hour- 
glass, where  the  rivers  approached  within  two  miles 
of  each  other.  This  he  called  the  High  Street,  but 
the  public  persisted  in  calling  it  Market  Street.  The 
north  and  south  street,  laid  out  in  the  centre  of  the 
plat,  at  its  southern  end  reached  the  Delaware  near 
the  confluence  with  the  Schuylkill.  This  street  is 
one  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  wide,  Broad  Street,  a 
magnificent  thoroughfare  stretching  for  miles  and 
bordered  with  handsome  buildings.  Upon  the  Centre 
Square  was  built  a  Quaker  meeting-house,  the 
Friends,  while  yet  occupying  the  caves  on  the  bluff 
banks  of  the  Delaware  that  were  their  earliest  dwell- 
ings, showing  anxiety  to  maintain  their  forms  of  re- 
ligious worship.     This  meeting-house  has  since  mul- 


THE  QUAKER  CITY.  159 

tiplied  into  scores  in  the  city  and  adjacent  districts ; 
for  the  sect,  while  not  increasing  in  numbers,  holds  its 
own  in  wealth  and  importance,  and  has  great  influ- 
ence in  modern  Philadelphia.  Afterwards  the  Centre 
Square  was  used  for  the  city  water-works,  and  finally 
it  was  made  the  site  of  the  City  Hall. 

The  bronze  statue  of  the  founder,  surmounting  the 
City  Hall  tower  at  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  eleva- 
tion, clad  in  broad-brimmed  hat  and  Quaker  garb, 
carrying  the  city  charter,  and  gazing  intently  north- 
eastward towards  the  "  neutral  land  of  Shacka- 
maxon,"  is  the  prominent  landmark  for  many  miles 
around  Philadelphia.  A  blaze  of  electric  light  illu- 
minates it  at  night.  This  City  Hall,  the  largest  edi- 
fice in  America,  and  almost  as  large  as  St.  Peter's 
Church  in  Rome,  has  fourteen  acres  of  floor  space  and 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  rooms,  and  cost  $27,000,000. 
It  is  a  quadrangle,  built  around  a  central  court  about 
two  hundred  feet  square,  and  measures  four  hundred 
and  eighty-six  by  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet. 
The  lower  portion  is  of  granite,  and  the  upper  white 
marble  surmounted  by  Louvre  domes  and  Mansard 
roofs.  This  great  building  is  the  official  centre  of 
Philadelphia,  but  the  centre  of  population  is  now  far 
to  the  northwest,  the  city  having  spread  in  that  direc- 
tion. The  City  Hall,  excepting  its  tower,  is  also  being 
dwarfed  by  the  many  enormous  and  tall  store  and 
office  buildings  which  have  recently  been  constructed 
on  Broad  and  other  streets  near  it.     Closely  adjacent 


,  160     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

are  the  two  vast  stations  of  the  railways  leading  into 
Philadelphia,  the  Broad  Street  Station  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania system,  and  the  Reading  Terminal  Station, 
which  serves  the  Reading,  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and 
Lehigh  Valley  systems.  Also  adjoining,  to  the  north- 
ward, is  the  Masonic  Temple,  the  finest  Masonic  edi- 
fice in  existence,  a  pure  Norman  structure  of  granite 
two  hundred  and  fifty  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
with  a  tower  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  high,  and 
a  magnificent  carved  and  decorated  granite  Norman 
porch,  which  is  much  admired. 

The  great  founder  not  only  started  his  City  of 
Brotherly  Love  upon  principles  of  the  strictest  recti- 
tude, but  he  was  thoroughly  rectangular  in  his  ideas. 
He  laid  out  all  the  streets  on  his  plan  parallel  to  the 
two  prominent  ones,  so  that  they  crossed  at  right 
angles,  and  his  map  was  like  a  chess-board.  In  the 
newer  sections  this  plan  has  been  generally  followed, 
although  a  few  country  roads  in  the  outer  districts, 
laid  upon  diagonal  lines,  have  been  converted  into 
streets  in  the  city's  growth.  Penn's  original  city  also 
included  four  other  squares  near  the  outer  corners  of 
his  plan,  each  of  about  seven  acres,  and  three  of  them 
were  long  used  as  cemeteries.  These  are  now  at- 
tractive breathing-places  for  the  crowded  city,  being 
named  after  Washington  and  Franklin,  Logan  and 
Rittenhouse.  The  east  and  west  streets  Penn  named 
after  trees  and  plants,  while  the  north  and  south 
streets  were  numbered.     The  chief  street  of  the  city 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL.  161 

is  Chestnut  Street,  a  narrow  highway  of  fifty  feet 
width,  parallel  to  and  south  of  Market  Street.  Its 
western  end,  like  Walnut  Street,  the  next  one  south, 
is  a  fashionable  residential  section,  both  being  pro- 
longed far  west  of  the  Schuylkill  River.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Broad  Street,  and  for  several  blocks 
eastward,  Chestnut  Street  has  the  chief  stores.  Its 
eastern  blocks  are  filled  largely  with  financial  in- 
stitutions and  great  business  edifices,  some  of  them 
elaborate  structures. 

INDEPENDENCE    HALL. 

Upon  the  south  side  of  Chestnut  Street,  occupying 
the  block  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  Streets,  is  Inde- 
pendence Square,  an  open  space  of  about  four  acres, 
tastefully  laid  out  in  flowers  and  lawns,  with  spacious 
and  well-shaded  walks.  Upon  the  northern  side  of 
the  square,  and  fronting  Chestnut  Street,  is  the  most 
hallowed  building  of  American  patriotic  memories, 
Independence  Hall,  a  modest  brick  structure,  yet  the 
most  interesting  object  Philadelphia  contains.  It  was 
in  this  Hall,  known  familiarly  as  the  "  State-house," 
that  the  Continental  Congress  governing  the  thirteen 
revolted  colonies  met  during  the  American  Revo- 
lution, excepting  when  driven  out  upon  the  British 
capture,  after  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine.  The 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted  here  July 
4,  1776.  The  old  brick  building,  two  stories  high, 
plainly  built,  and  lighted  by  large  windows,  was  begun 


162     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

in  1732,  taking  three  years  to  construct,  having  cost 
what  was  a  large  sum  in  those  days,  £5600,  the  pop- 
ulation then  being  about  ten  thousand.  It  was  the 
Government  House  of  Penn's  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. There  has  recently  been  a  complete  restora- 
tion, by  which  it  has  been  put  back  into  the  actual 
condition  at  the  time  Independence  was  declared.  In 
the  central  corridor  stands  the  a  Independence  bell," 
the  most  sacred  relic  in  the  city.  This  Liberty  bell, 
originally  cast  in  England,  hung  in  the  steeple,  and 
rang  out  in  joyous  peals  the  news  of  the  signing  of 
the  Declaration.  Running  around  its  top  is  the  sig- 
nificant inscription  :  "  Proclaim  Liberty  throughout 
the  Land  unto  all  the  Inhabitants  Thereof."  This 
bell  was  cracked  while  being  rung  on  one  of  the  an- 
niversaries about  sixty  years  ago.  In  the  upper 
story  of  the  Hall,  Washington  delivered  his  "  Fare- 
well Address  "  in  closing  his  term  of  office  as  Presi- 
dent. The  eastern  room  of  the  lower  story  is  where 
the  Revolutionary  Congress  met,  and  it  is  preserved 
as  then,  the  old  tables,  chairs  and  other  furniture 
having  been  gathered  together,  and  portraits  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  hang  on  the  walls.  The 
old  floor,  being  worn  out,  was  replaced  with  tiles,  but 
otherwise  the  room,  which  is  about  forty  feet  square, 
is  as  nearly  as  possible  in  its  original  condition. 
Here  are  kept  the  famous  "  Rattlesnake  flags,"  with 
the  motto  "Don't  Tread  on  Me,"  that  were  the 
earliest  flags  of  America,  preceding  the  Stars  and 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL.  168 

Stripes.  Of  the  deliberations  of  the  Congress  which 
met  in  this  building,  William  Pitt  wrote :  "  I  must 
declare  that  in  all  my  reading  and  observation,  for 
solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom 
of  conclusion,  under  such  a  complication  of  difficult 
circumstances,  no  body  of  men  could  stand  before  the 
National  Congress  of  Philadelphia."  In  this  build- 
ing is  Penn's  Charter  of  Philadelphia,  granted  in 
1701,  and  West's  noted  painting  of  u  Penn's  Treaty 
with  the  Indians."  There  are  also  portraits  of  all  the 
British  kings  and  queens  from  Penn's  time,  including 
a  full-length  portrait  of  King  George  III.,  represent- 
ing him,  when  a  young  man,  in  his  coronation  robes, 
and  painted  by  Allan  Ramsay. 

Other  historic  places  are  nearby.  To  the  westward 
is  Congress  Hall,  where  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  held  its  sessions  prior  to  removal  to  Washing- 
ton City.  To  the  eastward  is  the  old  City  Hall,  where 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  sat  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  Adjoining  is  the  Hall  of  the  Amer- 
ican Philosophical  Society,  founded  by  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  an  outgrowth  of  his  Junto  Club  of 
1743.  It  has  a  fine  library  and  many  interesting 
relics.  Franklin,  who  was  the  leading  Philadelphian 
of  the  Revolutionary  period,  came  to  the  city  from 
Boston  when  eighteen  years  old,  and  died  in  1790. 
His  grave  is  not  far  away,  in  the  old  Quaker  burying- 
ground  on  North  Fifth  Street.  A  fine  bronze  statue 
of  Franklin  adorns  the  plaza  in  front  of  the  Post- 

VOL.  1—8 


164     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

office  building  on  Chestnut  Street.  Farther  down 
Chestnut  Street  is  the  Hall  of  the  Carpenters'  Com- 
pany, standing  back  from  the  street,  where  the  first 
Colonial  Congress  met  in  1774,  paving  the  way  for 
the  Revolution.  An  inscription  appropriately  reads 
that  u  Within  these  walls,  Henry,  Hancock  and 
Adams  inspired  the  delegates  of  the  colonies  with 
nerve  and  sinew  for  the  toils  of  war."  On  Arch 
Street,  east  from  Franklin's  grave,  is  the  house  where 
Betsy  Ross  made  the  first  American  flag,  with  thir- 
teen stars  and  thirteen  stripes,  from  a  design  prepared 
by  a  Committee  of  Congress  and  General  Washing- 
ton in  1777.  In  this  committee  were  Robert  Morris 
and  Colonel  George  Ross,  the  latter  being  the  young 
woman's  uncle.  It  appears  that  she  was  expert  at 
needlework  and  an  adept  in  making  the  handsome 
ruffled  bosoms  and  cuffs  worn  in  the  shirts  of  those 
days,  and  had  made  these  for  General  Washington 
himself.  She  had  also  made  flags,  and  there  is  a 
record  of  an  order  on  the  Treasury  in  May,  1777, 
"to  pay  Betsy  Ross  fourteen  pounds,  twelve  shil- 
lings twopence  for  flags  for  the  fleet  in  the  Delaware 
River."  She  made  the  sample-flag,  her  uncle  pro- 
viding the  means  to  procure  the  materials,  and  her 
design  was  adopted  by  the  Congress  on  June  14/ 
1777,  the  anniversary  being  annually  commemorated 
as  u  Flag  Day."  Originally  there  was  a  six-pointed 
star  suggested  by  the  committee,  but  she  proposed 
the  live-pointed  star  as  more  artistic,  and  they  ao 


GIRAED  COLLEGEL  165 

cepted  it.  The  form  of  flag  then  adopted  continues 
to  be  the  American  standard.  She  afterwards  mar- 
ried John  Claypole,  whom  she  survived  many  years, 
and  she  died  in  January,  1836,  aged  84,  being 
buried  in  Mount  Moriah  Cemetery,  on  the  south- 
western border  of  the  city. 

GIRARD    COLLEGE. 

The  name  of  Girard  is  familiar  in  Philadelphia, 
being  repeated  in  streets,  buildings,  and  financial  and 
charitable  institutions.  On  Third  Street,  south  from 
Chestnut  Street,  is  the  fine  marble  building  of  the 
Girard  Bank,  which  was  copied  after  the  Dublin  Ex- 
change. This,  originally  built  for  the  first  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  was  Stephen  Girard's  bank  until 
his  death.  One  of  the  greatest  streets  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  city  is  Girard  Avenue,  over  one  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  stretching  almost  from  the  Delaware 
River  westward  far  beyond  the  Schuylkill  River, 
which  it  crosses  upon  a  splendid  iron  bridge.  In  its 
course  through  the  northwestern  section,  this  fine 
street  diverges  around  the  enclosure  of  Girard  Col- 
lege, occupying  grounds  covering  about  forty-two 
acres.  Stephen  Girard,  before  the  advent  of  Astor 
in  New  York,  amassed  the  greatest  American  fortune. 
He  was  born  in  Bordeaux  in  1750,  and,  being  a 
sailor's  son,  began  life  as  a  cabin  boy.  He  first  ap- 
peared in  Philadelphia  during  the  Revolution  as  a 
small  trader,  and  after  some  years  was  reported,  in 


166     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

1790,  to  have  an  estate  valued  at  $30,000.  Subse- 
quently, through  trading  with  the  West  Indies,  and 
availing  of  the  advantages  a  neutral  had  in  the 
warlike  period  that  followed,  he  rapidly  amassed 
wealth,  so  that  by  1812,  when  he  opened  his  bank, 
he  had  a  capital  of  $1,200,000  j  and  so  great  was  the 
public  confidence  in  his  integrity  that  depositors 
flocked  to  his  institution.  He  increased  its  capital 
to  $4,000,000  j  and  when  the  war  with  England  began 
in  that  year  he  was  able  to  take,  without  help,  a 
United  States  loan  of  $5,000,000.  He  was  a  re- 
markable man,  frugal  and  even  parsimonious,  but 
profuse  in  his  public  charities,  though  strict  in  ex- 
acting every  penny  due  himself.  He  contributed  lib- 
erally to  the  adornment  of  the  city  and  created  many 
fine  buildings.  He  despised  the  few  relatives  he  had, 
and  when  he  died  in  1831  his  estate,  then  the  largest 
known  in  the  country,  and  estimated  at  $9,000,000, 
was  almost  entirely  bequeathed  for  charity. 

Stephen  Girard  left  donations  to  schools,  hospitals, 
Masonic  poor  funds,  for  fuel  for  the  poor,  and  other 
charitable  purposes ;  but  the  major  part  of  his  for- 
tune went  in  trust  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  partly 
to  improve  its  streets  and  the  Delaware  River  front, 
but  the  greater  portion  to  endow  Girard  College. 
This  was  in  the  form  of  a  bequest  of  $2,000,000  in 
money  and  a  large  amount  of  lands  and  buildings, 
together  with  the  ground  whereon  the  College  has 
been  built.     He  gave   the   most  minute   directions 


6IEARD  COLLEGE.  167 

about  its  construction,  the  institution  to  be  for  the 
support  and  instruction  of  poor  white  male  orphans, 
who  are  admitted  between  the  a£es  of  six  and  ten 
years,  and  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen 
years  are  to  be  bound  out  as  apprentices  to  various 
occupations.  A  clause  in  the  will  provides  that  no 
ecclesiastic,  missionary  or  minister  of  any  sect  what- 
ever is  to  hold  any  connection  with  the  College,  or 
even  be  admitted  to  the  premises  as  a  visitor ;  but 
the  officers  are  required  to  instruct  the  pupils  in  the 
purest  principles  of  morality,  leaving  them  to  adopt 
their  own  religious  beliefs.  The  College  building  is 
of  white  marble,  and  the  finest  specimen  of  pure 
Grecian  architecture  in  the  United  States.  It  is  a 
Corinthian  temple,  surrounded  by  a  portico  of  thirty- 
four  columns,  each  fifty-five  feet  high  and  six  feet  in 
diameter.  The  building  is  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  by  one  hundred  and  eleven  feet,  and  ninety- 
seven  feet  high,  the  roof  being  of  heavy  slabs  of 
marble,  from  which,  as  the  College  stands  on  high 
ground,  there  is  a  grand  view  over  the  city.  Within 
the  vestibule  are  a  statue  of  Girard  and  his  sarcoph- 
agus. The  architect,  Thomas  U.  Walter,  achieved 
such  fame  from  this  building  that  he  was  afterwards 
employed  to  extend  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 
There  are  many  other  buildings  in  the  College  enclo- 
sure, some  being  little  less  pretentious  than  the  Col- 
lege itself.  This  comprehensive  charity  has  been  in 
successful  operation  over  a  half-century,  and  it  sup- 


168     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ports  and  educates  some  sixteen  hundred  boys,  the 
endowment,  by  careful  management,  now  exceeding 
$16,000,000. 

Philadelphia  is  great  in  other  charities,  and  nota- 
bly in  hospitals.  Opposite  Girard  College  are  the 
magnificent  buildings  of  the  German  Hospital  and 
the  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home  for  the  education  of 
nurses,  established  by  the  munificence  of  John  D. 
Lankenau,  the  widowed  husband  of  the  lady  whose 
name  it  bears.  The  Drexel  Institute,  founded  by 
Anthony  J.  Drexel,  is  a  fine  building  in  West  Phila- 
delphia, with  $2,000,000  endowment,  established  for 
u  the  extension  and  improvement  of  industrial  edu- 
cation as  a  means  of  opening  better  and  wider  ave- 
nues of  employment  to  young  men  and  women,"  and 
it  provides  for  about  two  thousand  students.  The 
Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  Jewish,  Methodist  and  Ro- 
man Catholic  hospitals,  all  under  religious  care,  are 
noted.  Philadelphia  is  also  the  great  medical  school 
of  the  country,  and  the  University,  Jefferson,  Hah- 
nemann and  Women's  Colleges,  each  with  a  hospital 
attached,  have  world-wide  fame.  The  oldest  hospital, 
the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  occupying  an  entire  block 
between  Spruce  and  Pine  and  Eighth  and  Ninth 
Streets,  was  founded  in  1752,  and  is  supported  almost 
entirely  by  voluntary  contributions.  In  1841  it 
established  in  West  Philadelphia  a  separate  Depart- 
ment for  the  Insane.  The  Medico-Chirurgical  Hos- 
pital is  a  modern  foundation  which  has  grown  to 


NOTABLE  PHILADELPHIA  BUILDINGS.        169 

large  proportions.  There  are  many  libraries — not 
only  free  libraries,  with  branches  in  various  parts  of 
the  city,  for  popular  use,  supported  by  the  public 
funds,  but  also  the  Philadelphia  Library,  founded  by 
Franklin  and  his  friends  of  the  Junto  Literary  Club 
in  1731,  and  its  Ridgway  Branch,  established,  with 
$1,500,000  endowment,  by  Dr.  James  Rush — a  spa- 
cious granite  building  on  Broad  Street,  which  cost 
$350,000.  One  of  the  restrictions  of  his  gift,  how- 
ever, excludes  newspapers,  he  describing  them  as 
"vehicles  of  disjointed  thinking."  The  Pennsylva- 
nia Historical  Society  also  has  a  fine  library  pertain- 
ing to  early  Colonial  history,  and  many  valuable  relics 
and  manuscripts,  including  the  first  Bible  printed 
in  America,  and  the  original  manuscripts  of  Homey 
Sweet  Honie,  and  the  Star-Spangled  Banner, 

NOTABLE   PHILADELPHIA   BUILDINGS. 

There  are  many  notable  structures  in  Philadelphia. 
The  United  States  Mint,  opposite  the  City  Hall,  and 
fronting  on  Chestnut  Street,  has  executed  nearly  all 
the  coinage  of  the  country  since  its  establishment  in 
1792,  the  present  building  having  been  completed  in 
1833.  It  contains  a  most  interesting  collection  of 
coins,  including  the  "widow's  mite."  A  fine  new 
mint  is  now  being  erected  on  a  much  larger  scale  in 
the  northwestern  section  of  the  city.  The  Bourse, 
on  Fifth  Street  near  Chestnut,  erected  in  1895  at  a 
cost  of  $1,500,000,  is  the  business  centre,  its  lower 


170     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

hall  being  the  most  spacious  apartment  in  the  city, 
and  the  edifice  is  constructed  in  the  style  of  Francis 
I.  The  white  marble  Custom  House,  with  fine  Doric 
portico,  was  originally  erected  in  1819,  at  a  cost  of 
$500,000,  for  the  second  United  States  Bank,  this 
noted  bank,  which  ultimately  suspended,  having  been 
for  many  years  a  political  bone  of  contention.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  covering  a  block,  is  a  row 
of  a  half-dozen  wealthy  financial  institutions,  making 
one  of  the  finest  series  in  existence,  granite  and 
marble  being  varied  in  several  orders  of  architec- 
ture. The  Post-office  building,  also  on  Chestnut 
Street,  a  grand  granite  structure  in  Renaissance, 
with  a  facade  extending  four  hundred  feet,  cost  over 
$5,000,000.  The  plain  and  solid  Franklin  Institute, 
designed  to  promote  the  mechanical  and  useful  arts, 
is  not  far  away. 

Down  nearer  the  river  is  the  venerable  Christ 
Church,  with  its  tall  spire,  built  in  1727,  the  most 
revered  Episcopal  church  in  the  city,  and  the  one 
at  which  General  Washington  and  all  the  Government 
officials  in  the  Revolutionary  days  worshipped.  Wil- 
liam White,  a  native  of  the  city,  was  the  rector  of 
this  church  and  chaplain  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  in  1786  was  elected  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania,  being  ordained  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  at  Lambeth  in  February,  1787.  He  pre- 
sided over  the  Convention,  held  in  this  church  in 
1789,   which    organized    the   Protestant    Episcopal 


NOTABLE  PHILADELPHIA  BUILDINGS.        171 

Church  in  the  United  States.  Christ  Church  still 
possesses  the  earliest  chime  of  bells  sent  from  Eng- 
land to  America,  and  the  spire,  rising  nearly  two  hun- 
dred feet,  is  a  prominent  object  seen  from  the  river. 
Bishop  White  died  in  1836,  aged  88.  He  was  also, 
in  his  early  life,  the  rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  an- 
other revered  Episcopal  church  at  Third  and  Pine 
Streets.  In  its  yard  is  the  grave  of  Commodore 
Stephen  Decatur,  the  famous  American  naval  officer, 
who,  after  all  his  achievements  and  victories,  was 
killed  in  a  duel  with  Commodore  Barron  in  1820, 
his  antagonist  also  dying.  The  most  ancient  church 
in  Philadelphia  is  Gloria  Dei,  the  u  Old  Swedes' n 
Church,  a  quaint  little  structure  near  the  Delaware 
River  bank  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  built  in 
1700.  The  early  Swedish  settlers,  coming  up  from 
Fort  Christina,  erected  a  log  chapel  on  this  site  in 
1677,  at  which  Jacob  Fabritius  delivered  the  first 
sermon.  After  he  died,  the  King  of  Sweden  in 
1697  sent  over  Rev.  Andrew  Rudman,  under  whose 
guidance  the  present  structure  was  built  to  replace 
the  log  chapel  j  and  it  was  dedicated,  the  first  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  1700,  by  Rev.  Eric  Biorck,  who  had 
come  over  with  Rudman.  Many  are  the  tales  told 
of  the  escapades  of  the  early  Swedes  in  the  days  of 
the  log  chapel.  The  Indians  on  one  occasion  under- 
mined it  to  get  at  the  congregation,  as  they  were 
afraid  of  the  muskets  which  the  men  shot  out  of  the 
loopholes.     The  women,  however,  scenting  danger, 


172     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

brought  into  church  a  large  supply  of  soft-soap, 
which  they  heated  piping  hot  in  a  cauldron.  When 
the  redskins  made  their  foray  and  popped  their  heads 
up  through  the  floor,  they  were  treated  to  a  copious 
bath  of  hot  soap,  and  fled  in  dismay.  This  is  the 
"  Old  Swedes'  P  Church  at  Wicaco  of  which  Long- 
fellow sings  in  Evangeline.  The  poet,  in  unfolding 
his  story,  brings  both  Evangeline  and  Gabriel  from 
Acadia  to  Philadelphia  in  the  enforced  exodus  of 
1755,  and  thus  graphically  describes  the  Quaker 
City: 

"  In  that  delightful  land  which  is  washed  by  the  Delaware's 

waters, 
Guarding  in  sylvan  shades  the  name  of  Penn,  the  Apostle, 
Stands  on  the  banks  of  its  beautiful  stream  the  city  he  founded. 
There  all  the  air  is  balm,  and  the  peach  is  the  emblem  of 

beauty, 
And  the  streets  still  re-echo  the  names  of  the  trees  of  the 

forest, 
As  if  they  fain  would  appease  the  Dryads  whose  haunts  they 

molested. 
There,  from  the  troubled  sea,  had  Evangeline  landed  an  exile, 
Finding  among  the  children  of  Penn  a  home  and  a  country. 
Something,  at  least,  there  was,  in  the  friendly  streets  of  the 

city, 
Something  that  spake  to  her  heart  and  made  her  no  longer  a 

stranger ; 
And   her  ear  was  pleased  with  the  Thee  and  Thou  of  the 

Quakers, 
For  it  recalled  the  past,  the  old  Acadian  country, 
Where  all  men  were  equal,  and  all  were  brothers  and  sisters." 

In  Philadelphia  it  is  said  Evangeline  lived  many 


NOTABLE  PHILADELPHIA  BUILDINGS.        173 

years  as  a  Sister  of  Mercy,  and  it  was  thus  that  she 
visited  the  ancient  almshouse  to  minister  to  the  sick 
and  dying  on  a  Sabbath  morning : 

"  As  she  mounted  the  stairs  to  the  corridors,  cooled  by  the  east 

wind, 
Distant  and  soft  on  her  ear  fell  the  chimes  from  the  belfry  of 

Christ  Church, 
While  intermingled   with    these,    across    the   meadows   were 

wafted 
Sounds  of  psalms  that  were  sung  by  the  Swedes  in  their  church 

at  Wicaco." 

There  she  found  the  dying  Gabriel,  and  both,  ac- 
cording to  the  tradition,  are  buried  in  the  yard  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  at  Sixth 
and  Spruce  Streets : 

"Still  stands  the  forest  primeval ;  but  far  away  from  its  shadow, 
Side  by  side,  in  their  nameless  graves,  the  lovers  are  sleeping. 
Under  the  humble  walls  of  the  little  Catholic  churchyard, 
In  the  heart  of  the  city,  they  lie  unknown  and  unnoticed. 
Daily  the  tides  of  life  go  ebbing  and  flowing  beside  them, 
Thousands  of  throbbing  hearts,  where  theirs  are  at  rest  and 

forever ; 
Thousands  of  aching  brains,  where  theirs  no  longer  are  busy  ; 
Thousands  of  toiling  hands,   where  theirs  have  ceased  from 

their  labors  ; 
Thousands  of  weary  feet,  where  theirs  have  completed  their 

journey." 

In  the  ancient  graveyard  of  "  Old  Swedes v  is 
buried  Alexander  Wilson,  the  American  ornitholo- 
gist, who  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  but  lived  most  of 


174     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

his  life  in  Philadelphia,  dying  in  1813.  The  largest 
church  in  the  city  is  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  fronting  on  Logan  Square, 
an  imposing  Roman  Corinthian  structure  of  red  sand- 
stone, two  hundred  and  sixteen  by  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  feet,  and  crowned  by  a  dome  rising  two 
hundred  and  ten  feet.  The  chief  institution  of  learn- 
ing is  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  comprehensive  College  in  the  Middle 
States,  dating  from  1740,  and  munificently  endowed, 
which  occupies,  with  its  many  buildings,  a  large  sur- 
face in  West  Philadelphia,  and  has  three  thousand 
students.  This  great  institution  originated  from  a 
building  planned  in  1740  for  a  place  in  which  George 
Whitefield  could  preach,  which  was  also  used  for  a 
charity  school.  This  building  was  conveyed  to  trus- 
tees in  1749  to  maintain  the  school,  and  they  were 
in  turn  chartered  as  a  college  in  1753  "  to  maintain 
an  academy,  as  well  for  the  instruction  of  poor  chil- 
dren on  charity  as  others  whose  circumstances  have 
enabled  them  to  pay  for  their  learning."  This  charit- 
able feature  is  still  maintained  in  the  University  by 
free  scholarships. 

Philadelphia  is  eminently  a  manufacturing  city, 
and  its  two  greatest  establishments  are  the  Cramp 
Shipbuilding  yards  in  the  Kensington  district  and  the 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  on  North  Broad  Street, 
each  the  largest  establishment  of  its  kind  in  America. 
The  city  has  spread  over  a  greater  territory  than 


NOTABLE  PHILADELPHIA  BUILDINGS.       175 

any  other  in  the  United  States,  and  sixteen  bridges 
span  the  Schuylkill,  with  others  in  contemplation,  its 
expansion  beyond  that  river  has  been  so  extensive. 
The  enormous  growth  of  the  town  has  mainly  come 
from  the  adoption  of  the  general  principle  that  every 
family  should  live  in  its  own  house,  supplemented  by 
liberal  extensions  of  electrical  street  railways  in  all 
directions.  Hence,  Philadelphia  is  popularly  known 
as  the  "  City  of  Homes."  As  the  city  expanded 
over  the  level  land,  four-,  six-,  eight-  and  ten-room 
dwellings  have  been  built  by  the  mile,  and  set  up  in 
row  after  row.  Two-story  and  three-story  houses  of 
red  brick,  with  marble  steps  and  facings,  make  up 
the  greater  part  of  the  town,  and  each  house  is  gen- 
erally its  owner's  castle,  the  owner  in  most  cases 
being  a  successful  toiler,  who  has  saved  his  house 
gradually  out  of  his  hard  earnings,  almost  literally 
brick  by  brick.  There  is  almost  unlimited  space 
in  the  suburbs  yet  capable  of  similar  absorption, 
and  the  process  which  has  given  Philadelphia  this 
extensive  surface  goes  on  indefinitely.  The  popu- 
lation is  also  regarded  as  more  representative  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  races  than  in  most  American 
cities,  though  the  Teuton  numerously  abounds  and 
speedily  assimilates.  The  greatest  extent  of  Phila- 
delphia is  upon  a  line  from  southwest  to  northeast, 
which  will  stretch  nearly  twenty  miles  in  a  con- 
tinuous succession  of  paved  and  lighted  streets  and 
buildings. 


176      AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
FAIRMOUNT   PARK   AND    SUBURBS. 

Philadelphia,  excepting  to  the  southward,  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  broad  belt  of  attractive  suburban  resi- 
dences, the  semi-rural  region  for  miles  being  filled 
with  ornamental  villas  and  the  tree-embowered  and 
comfortable  homes  of  the  well-to-do  and  middle 
classes.  Down  the  Schuylkill  is  "Bartram's  Gar- 
den," now  a  public  park,  where  John  Bartram  estab- 
lished the  first  botanic  garden  in  America,  and  where 
his  descendants  in  1899  celebrated  the  two  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  his  birth  on  June  2,  1699. 
His  grandfather  was  one  of  the  companions  of  Wil- 
liam Penn,  and  John  Bartram,  who  was  a  farmer, 
mastered  the  rudiments  of  the  learned  languages, 
became  passionately  devoted  to  botany,  and  was  pro- 
nounced by  Linnaeus  the  greatest  natural  botanist  in 
the  world.  Bartram  bought  his  little  place  of  about 
seven  acres  in  1728,  and  built  himself  a  stone  house, 
which  still  exists,  bearing  the  inscription,  cut  deep  in 
a  stone,  "John  and  Ann  Bartram,  1731."  He  wrote 
to  a  friend  describing  how  he  became  a  botanist : 
u  One  day  I  was  very  busy  in  holding  my  plough 
(for  thou  seest  I  am  but  a  ploughman),  and  being 
weary,  I  ran  under  a  tree  to  repose  myself.  I  cast 
my  eyes  on  a  daisy  ;  I  plucked  it  mechanically  and 
viewed  it  with  more  curiosity  than  common  country 
farmers  are  wont  to  do,  and  I  observed  therein  many 
distinct  parts.     '  What  a  shame/  said  my  mind,  or 


FAIEMOUNT  PABK  AND  SUBUKBS.     177 

something  that  inspired  my  mind,  i  that  thou  shouldst 
have  employed  so  many  years  in  tilling  the  earth 
and  destroying  so  many  flowers  and  plants  without 
being  acquainted  with  their  structure  and  their 
uses.'  "  He  put  up  his  horses  at  once,  and  went  to 
the  city  and  bought  a  botany  and  Latin  grammar, 
which  began  his  wonderful  career.  He  devoted  his 
life  to  botany,  travelled  over  America  collecting 
specimens,  and  died  in  1777.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
Schuylkill  River  is  League  Island,  where  the  United 
States  has  an  extensive  navy  yard,  and  a  reserve 
fresh  water  basin  for  the  storage  of  naval  vessels 
when  out  of  commission.  The  attractive  Philadel- 
phia suburban  features  spread  westward  across  the 
Schuylkill,  and  are  largely  developed  in  the  north- 
western sections  of  Germantown  and  Chestnut  Hill, 
Jenkintown  and  the  Chelten-hills.  In  this  extensive 
section  the  wealth  of  the  people  has  of  late  years 
been  lavishly  expended  in  making  attractive  homes, 
and  the  suburban  belt  for  miles  around  the  city  dis- 
plays most  charming  scenery,  adorned  by  elaborate 
villas,  pleasant  lanes,  shady  lawns  and  well-kept 
grounds. 

The  chief  rural  attraction  of  Philadelphia  is  Fair- 
mount  Park,  one  of  the  world's  largest  pleasure- 
grounds.  It  includes  the  lands  bordering  both  sides 
of  the  Schuylkill  above  the  city,  having  been  pri- 
marily established  to  protect  the  water-supply. 
There  are  nearly  three  thousand  acres  in  the  Park, 


178      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  its  sloping  hillsides  and  charming  water  views 
give  it  unrivalled  advantages  in  delicious  natural 
scenery.  At  the  southern  end  is  the  oldest  water 
reservoir  of  six  acres,  on  top  of  a  curious  and  iso- 
lated conical  hill  about  ninety  feet  high,  which  is 
the  "  Fair  Mount,"  giving  the  Park  its  name.  The 
Schuylkill  is  dammed  here  to  retain  the  water,  and 
the  Park  borders  the  river  for  several  miles  above, 
and  its  tributary,  the  Wissahickon,  for  six  miles 
farther.  The  Park  road  entering  alongside  the  Fair- 
mount  hill  passes  a  colossal  equestrian  statue  of 
George  Washington,  and  beyond  a  fine  bronze  statue 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  also  an  equestrian  statue 
of  General  Grant.  The  roadways  are  laid  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  at  the  water's  edge,  and  also  over 
the  higher  grounds  at  the  summits  of  the  sloping 
bordering  hills,  thus  affording  an  almost  endless 
change  of  routes  and  views.  The  frequent  bridges 
thrown  across  the  river,  several  of  them  carrying 
railroads,  add  to  the  charm.  An  electric  railway  is 
constructed  through  the  more  remote  portions,  and 
displays  their  rustic  beauty  to  great  advantage.  All 
around  this  spacious  Park  the  growing  city  has  ex- 
tended, and  prosperous  manufacturing  suburbs  spread 
up  from  the  river,  the  chief  being  the  carpet  dis- 
trict of  the  Falls  and  the  cotton-mills  of  Manayunk, 
the  latter  on  the  location  of  an  old-time  Indian  vil- 
lage, whose  name  translated  means  "the  place  of 
rum."     In  this  Park,   west  of  the  Schuylkill,   was 


FAIKMOUNT  PAEK  AND  SUBURBS.     179 

held  the  Centennial  Exposition  of  1876,  and  several 
of  the  buildings  remain,  notably  the  Memorial  Art 
Gallery,  now  a  museum,  and  the  Horticultural  Hall, 
where  the  city  maintains  a  fine  floral  display.  Wil- 
liam Penn's  u  Letitia  House,"  his  original  residence, 
removed  from  the  older  part  of  the  city,  now  stands 
near  the  entrance  to  the  West  Park. 

A  large  part  of  the  northeastern  bank  of  the 
Schuylkill  adjoining  the  Park  is  the  Laurel  Hill 
Cemetery.  Its  winding  walks  and  terraced  slopes 
and  ravines  give  constantly  varying  landscapes, 
making  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  burial-places  in 
existence.  In  front,  the  river  far  beneath  curves 
around  like  a  bow.  Some  of  its  mausoleums  are  of 
enormous  cost  and  elaborate  ornamentation,  but  gen- 
erally the  grandeur  of  the  location  eclipses  the  work 
of  the  decorator.  Standing  on  a  jutting  eminence  is 
the  Disston  Mausoleum,  which  entombs  an  English 
sawmaker  who  "came  to  Philadelphia  without  friends 
and  almost  penniless,  and  died  at  the  head  of  the 
greatest  sawmaking  establishment  on  the  Continent. 
At  one  place,  as  the  river  bends,  the  broad  and  rising 
terraces  of  tombs  curve  around  like  the  banks  of 
seats  in  a  grand  Roman  amphitheatre.  Here  is  the 
grave  of  General  Meade  who  commanded  at  Gettys- 
burg. In  a  plain,  unmarked  sepulchre  fronting  the 
river,  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  is  entombed  the 
Arctic  explorer  who  conducted  the  Grinnell  expedi- 
tion in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  Dr.  Elisha  Kent 


180     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Kane.  A  single  shaft  on  a  little  eminence  nearby- 
marks  the  grave  of  Charles  Thomson,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Continental  Congress  that  made  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  Some  of  the  graves  are  in 
exquisite  situations,  many  having  been  chosen  by 
those  who  lie  there.  Here  are  buried  Thomas  God- 
frey, the  inventor  of  the  mariner's  quadrant  5  Gen- 
eral Hugh  Mercer,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  in  the  Revolutionary  battle  of 
Princeton,  the  Scots'  Society  of  St.  Andrew  having 
erected  a  monument  to  his  memory ;  Commodore 
Isaac  Hull,  who  commanded  the  American  frigate 
u  Constitution  "  in  the  War  of  1812  when  she  cap- 
tured the  British  frigate  "  Guerriere  ;"  Harry  Wright, 
the  "  father  of  base-ball,"  who  died  in  1895 ;  and 
Thomas  Buchanan  Read,  the  poet-artist.  At  the 
cemetery  entrance  is  the  famous  "  Old  Mortality n 
group,  carved  in  Scotland  and  sent  to  Philadelphia. 
The  quaint  old  Scotsman  reclines  on  a  gravestone, 
and  pauses  in  his  task  of  chipping-out  the  half- 
effaced  letters  of  the  inscription,  while  the  little  pony 
patiently  waits  alongside  of  him  for  his  master  and 
Sir  Walter  Scott  to  finish  their  discourse. 

The  peculiar  charm  of  Philadelphia  suburban 
scenery,  however,  is  the  Wissahickon — the  "catfish 
stream  V  of  the  Indians.  This  is  a  creek  rising  in 
the  hills  north  of  the  city,  and  breaking  through  the 
rocky  ridges,  flowing  by  tortuous  course  to  the 
Schuylkill  a  short  distance  above  Laurel  Hill.     It  is 


FAIEMOUNT  PAEK  AND  SUBUEBS.  181 

an  Alpine  gorge  in  miniature,  with  precipitous  sides 
rising  two  to  three  hundred  feet,  and  the  winding 
road  along  the  stream  gives  a  charming  ride.  Popu- 
lous suburbs  are  on  the  higher  ridges,  but  the  ravine 
has  been  reserved  and  carefully  protected,  so  that 
all  the  natural  beauties  remain.  A  high  railway 
bridge  is  thrown  across  the  entrance  of  the  gorge  at 
the  Schuylkill,  and  rounding,  just  beyond,  a  sharp 
rocky  corner,  the  visitor  is  quickly  within  the  ravine, 
the  stream  nestling  deep  down  in  the  winding  fis- 
sure. For  several  miles  this  attractive  gorge  can  be 
followed $  and  high  up  on  its  side,  in  a  commanding 
position  near  the  summit  of  the  enclosing  ridge,  one 
of  the  residents  has  placed  a  statue  of  William  Penn, 
most  appropriately  bearing  the  single  word  at  its 
base — u  Toleration."  This  splendid  gorge  skirts  the 
northwestern  border  of  the  popular  suburb  of  Ger- 
mantown,  and  the  creek  emerges  from  its  rocky  con- 
fines at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Hill,  where  it  rends  the 
ridge  in  twain,  and  the  hillsides  are  dotted  with  at- 
tractive villas.  This  is  a  fashionable  residential  sec- 
tion whose  people  have  a  magnificent  outlook  over 
the  rich  agricultural  region  of  the  upper  Wissahickon 
Valley  and  the  hills  beyond. 

In  Germantown  is  the  historic  Chew  House,  bear- 
ing the  marks  of  cannon  balls,  which  was  the  scene 
of  the  battle  of  Germantown  in  October,  1777,  when 
the  British  under  Lord  Howe,  then  holding  Philadel- 
phia, defeated  General  Washington,  and  the  darkest 


182     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

period  of  the  Eevolution  followed,  the  Americans 
afterwards  retiring  to  their  sad  winter  camp  at  Val- 
ley Forge.  This  suburb  of  Germantown  is  almost 
as  old  as  Philadelphia.  It  was  originally  settled  in 
1683  by  Germans  who  came  from  Cresheim,  a  name 
that  is  preserved  in  the  chief  tributary  of  the  Wis- 
sahickon.  Their  leader  was  Daniel  Pastorius,  who 
bought  a  tract  of  fifty-seven  hundred  acres  of  land 
from  William  Penn  for  a  shilling  an  acre,  and  took 
possession  on  October  6th.  Their  settlement  pros- 
pered and  attracted  attention  in  the  Fatherland.  In 
1694  a  band  of  religious  refugees,  having  peculiar 
tenets  and  believing  that  the  end  of  the  world  was 
approaching,  determined  to  migrate  to  Germantown. 
They  were  both  Hollanders  and  Germans,  and  came 
from  Rotterdam  to  London,  whence,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Johannes  Kelpius,  they  sailed  for  America 
upon  the  ship  "  Sara  Maria."  They  were  earnest 
and  scholarly  men,  and  Kelpius,  who  was  a  college 
graduate,  was  a  profound  theologian.  They  called 
themselves  the  u  Pietists."  Upon  their  voyage  they 
had  many  narrow  escapes,  but  every  danger  was 
averted  by  fervent  prayers.  Their  vessel  ran 
aground,  but  was  miraculously  floated;  they  were 
nearly  captured  by  the  French,  but,  mustering  in 
such  large  numbers  on  the  deck  of  the  "  Sara 
Maria,"  they  scared  the  enemy  away ;  they  were 
badly  frightened  by  an  unexpected  eclipse  of  the 
sun ;  but  in  every  case  prayers  saved  them,  and  on 


FAIKMOUNT  PARK  AND  SUBURBS.     183 

June  14th  they  safely  landed  in  Chesapeake  Bay, 
marching  overland  to  the  Delaware  and  sailing  up  to 
Philadelphia,  where  they  disembarked. 

In  solemn  procession,  on  June  23,  1694,  led  by 
Kelpius,  they  walked,  two  and  two,  through  the  little 
town,  which  then  had  some  five  hundred  houses. 
They  called  on  the  Governor,  William  Markham,  rep- 
resenting Penn,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  British  Crown.  In  the  evening  they  held  a 
solemn  religious  service  on  "the  Fair  Mount,"  at 
the  verge  of  the  Schuylkill.  In  it  they  celebrated 
the  old  German  custom  of  u  Sanct  Johannes  "  on  St. 
John's  eve.  They  lighted  a  fire  of  dry  leaves  and 
brushwood  on  the  hill,  casting  into  it  flowers,  pine 
boughs  and  bones,  and  then  rolled  the  dying  embers 
down  the  hillside  as  a  sign  that  the  longest  day  of 
the  year  was  past,  and  the  sun,  like  the  embers, 
would  gradually  lose  its  power.  The  next  morning 
was  the  Sabbath,  and  they  went  out  to  Germantown, 
where  they  were  warmly  welcomed.  They  built 
their  first  house,  since  called  the  Monastery,  near  the 
Wissahickon  Creek,  where  they  worked  and  wor- 
shipped. Their  house  they  called  "  The  Woman  of 
the  Wilderness,"  and  upon  its  roof,  day  and  night, 
some  of  them  stood,  closely  observing  the  changing 
heavens.  With  prayers  and  patience  they  watched 
for  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  they  obeyed  the  ministry  of  Kelpius.  He  lived 
in  a  cave,  and  as  his  colony  of  enthusiasts  gradually 


184     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

dwindled,  through  death  and  desertion,  he  came  to  be 
known  as  the  "  Hermit  of  the  Wissahickon."  Here 
he  dug  his  well  two  centuries  ago,  and  the  "  Her- 
mit's Pool n  still  exists.  He  constantly  preached 
the  near  approach  of  the  millennium,  and  exhibited 
his  magical  "  wisdom  stone."  Finally,  wearying  yet 
still  believing,  he  gave  up,  cast  his  weird  stone  into 
the  stream,  and  in  1704  he  died,  much  to  the  relief 
of  the  neighboring  Quaker  brethren,  who  did  not 
fancy  such  mysterious  alchemy  so  near  the  city  of 
Penn.  These  "  Pietists,"  or  "  Kelpians,"  as  they  were 
afterwards  called,  dispersed  over  the  country,  and 
had  much  to  do  with  guiding  the  religious  life  and 
mode  of  worship  among  the  early  German  settlers  in 
Pennsylvania.  Everywhere  in  German  Pennsylva- 
nia there  are  traces  of  their  influence,  and  especially 
at  Ephrata  and  Waynesboro  they  have  had  pious  and 
earnest  followers.  After  the  death  of  Kelpius,  their 
last  survivor  in  Germantown  was  Dr.  Christopher 
DeWitt,  famed  as  a  naturalist,  an  astronomer,  a 
clock-maker  and  a  magician.  He  was  a  close  friend 
of  John  Bartram,  lived  an  ascetic  life,  became  blind 
and  feeble,  and  finally  died  an  octogenarian  in  1765, 
thus  closing  with  his  life  the  active  career  of  the 
Kelpian  mystics. 

THE   SCHUYLKILL   RIVER. 

One  of  the  romances  of  Fairmount  Park  is  at- 
tached to  the  little  stone  cottage,  with  overhanging 


THE  SCHUYLKILL  EIYER.  185 

roof,  down  by  the  Schuylkill  River  bank,  where  tra- 
dition says  that  the  Irish  poet,  Tom  Moore,  briefly 
dwelt  when  he  visited  Philadelphia  in  the  summer  of 
1804.  This  cottage  tradition  may  be  a  myth,  but 
the  poet  when  here  composed  an  ode  to  the  cottage 
and  to  the  Schuylkill,  which  is  as  attractive  as  the 
bewitching  river  scene  itself.  The  famous  ballad 
begins : 

"  I  knew  by  the  smoke  that  so  gracefully  curled 
Above  the  green  elms  that  a  cottage  was  near, 
And  I  said,  '  If  there's  peace  to  be  found  in  the  world, 
A  heart  that  was  humble  might  hope  for  it  here.'  " 

Tom  Moore's  letters  written  at  that  time  generally 
showed  dislike  for  much  that  he  saw  on  his  American 
journey,  but  he  seems  to  have  found  better  things  at 
Philadelphia,  and  was  delighted  with  the  Quaker  hos- 
pitality. His  ode  to  the  Schuylkill  shows  that  its 
beauties  impressed  him,  and  gives  evidence  of  his  re- 
gard for  the  people : 

11  Alone  by  the  Schuylkill,  a  wanderer  roved, 
And  bright  were  its  flowery  banks  to  his  eye ; 
But  far,  very  far,  were  the  friends  that  he  loved, 
And  he  gazed  on  its  flowery  banks  with  a  sigh. 

"'The  stranger  is  gone — but  he  will  not  forget, 

When  at  home  he  shall  talk  of  the  toil  he  has  known, 
To  tell  with  a  sigh  what  endearments  he  met, 
As  he  stray' d  by  the  wave  of  the  Schuylkill  alone  I" 

The  Schuylkill  River  is  the  chief  tributary  of  the 
Delaware,  an  Allegheny  Mountain  stream  about  one 


186     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

hundred  and  twenty  miles  long,  coming  out  of  the 
Pennsylvania  anthracite  coal-fields,  and  falling  into 
the  Delaware  at  League  Island  in  such  a  lowland  re- 
gion that  its  mouth  is  scarcely  discernible.  In  fact, 
the  early  Dutch  explorers  of  the  Delaware  passed 
the  place  repeatedly  and  never  discovered  it ;  and 
when  the  stream  above  was  afterwards  found  by 
going  overland,  and  traced  down  to  its  mouth,  they 
appropriately  called  it  the  Schuylkill,  meaning  the 
"  hidden  river."  The  Indian  name  was  the  "  Gans- 
howe-hanne,"  or  the  u  roaring  stream,"  on  account 
of  its  many  rapids.  The  lowest  of  these,  which 
gave  the  name  of  the  "Falls"  to  a  Philadelphia 
suburb,  was  obliterated  by  the  backwater  from  the 
Fairmount  water-works  dam.  The  river  valley  is 
populous,  rich  in  manufactures  and  agriculture,  and, 
as  it  winds  through  ridge  after  ridge  of  the  Alle- 
gheny foothills,  displays  magnificent  scenery.  Both 
banks  are  lined  with  railways,  which  bring  the  an- 
thracite coal  from  the  mines  down  to  tidewater. 

Journeying  up  the  Schuylkill,  we  pass  the  flourish- 
ing manufacturing  towns  of  Conshohocken  and  Nor- 
ristown  and  come  into  the  region  of  the  "  Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch,"  where  the  inhabitants,  who  are  mostly 
of  Teutonic  origin,  speak  a  curious  dialect,  com- 
pounded of  German,  Dutch,  English  and  some  Indian 
words,  yet  not  fully  understood  by  any  of  those  races. 
These  industrious  people  are  chiefly  farmers  and 
handicraftsmen,  and  they  make  up  much  of  the  pop- 


READING  AND  POTTSVILLE.  187 

ulation  of  eastern  Pennsylvania,  while  their  "  sauer- 
kraut n  and  u  scrapple  v  have  become  staple  foods  in 
the  State.  Twenty-four  miles  above  Philadelphia, 
alongside  a  little  creek  and  almost  under  the  great 
Black  Rock,  a  towering  sandstone  ridge,  was  the 
noted  Valley  Forge,  the  place  of  encampment  of 
Washington's  tattered  and  disheartened  army  when 
the  defeats  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown  and  the 
loss  of  Philadelphia  made  his  prospects  so  dismal  in 
the  winter  of  1777-78,  one  of  the  severest  seasons 
ever  experienced  in  America.  The  encampment  is 
preserved  as  a  national  relic,  the  entrenchments 
being  restored  by  a  patriotic  association,  with  the 
little  farmhouse  beside  the  deep  and  rugged  hollow, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  which  was  Washing- 
ton's headquarters.  Phcenixville  and  Pottstown  are 
passed,  and  Birdsboro',  all  places  of  busy  and  pros- 
perous iron  manufacture,  and  then  the  river  valley 
leads  us  into  the  gorge  of  the  South  Mountain. 

READING   AND   POTTSVILLE. 

The  diminutive  Schuylkill  breaks  its  passage 
through  this  elevated  range,  with  Penn's  Mount  on 
one  side  and  the  Neversink  Mountain  on  the  other, 
and  here  is  located  the  most  populous  city  of  the 
Schuylkill  Valley — Reading,  with  seventy  thousand 
population,  a  seat  of  iron-making  and  extensive  rail- 
way shops,  having  a  fertile  agricultural  region  in  the 
adjacent  valleys.  This  expanding  and  attractive  city 
Vol.  1—9 


188     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

gives  its  name  to,  and  obtains  much  of  its  celebrity 
from  the  "  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railway,"  the 
colossal  financial  institution  whose  woes  of  bank- 
ruptcy and  throes  of  reconstruction  have  for  so  many 
years  occupied  the  attention  of  the  world  of  finance. 
This  great  railway  branches  at  Reading,  and  its 
western  line  runs  off  through  red  sandstone  rocks 
and  among  iron  mills  and  out  upon  a  high  bridge, 
thrown  in  a  beautiful  situation  across  the  Schuylkill, 
and  proceeds  over  the  Lebanon  Valley  to  the  Sus- 
quehanna River  at  Harrisburg.  This  rich  limestone 
valley,  between  the  South  Mountain  and  the  Blue 
Ridge,  is  a  good  farming  district,  and  also  a  wealthy 
region  of  iron  manufacture.  The  Reading  system 
also  sends  its  East  Pennsylvania  route  eastward  to 
Allentown  in  the  Lehigh  Valley,  and  thence  to  New 
York.  Factory  smokes  overhang  Reading,  through 
which  the  Schuylkill  flows  in  crooked  course,  spanned 
by  frequent  bridges,  and  puffing  steam  jets  on  all 
sides  show  the  busy  industries.  A  good  district  sur- 
rounds Reading  in  the  mountain  valleys,  and  the 
thrifty  Dutch  farmers  in  large  numbers  come  into 
the  town  to  trade.  The  high  forest-clad  mountains 
rise  precipitously  on  both  sides,  with  electric  railways 
running  up  and  around  them,  disclosing  magnificent 
views.  The  "  old  red  sandstone  "  of  these  enclosing 
hills  has  been  liberally  hewn  out  to  make  the  orna- 
mental columns  for  the  Court  House  portico  and  build 
the  castellated  jail,  and  also  the  red  gothic  chapel 


BEADING  AND  POTTSVILLE.  189 

and  elaborate  red  gateway  of  the  "  Charles  Evans7 
Cemetery,"  where  the  chief  townsfolk  expect,  like 
their  ancestry,  to  be  buried.  The  visitor  who  wishes 
to  see  one  of  the  most  attractive  views  over  city, 
river,  mountain  and  distant  landscape  can  climb  by 
railway  up  to  the  "  White  Spot,"  elevated  a  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  river,  on  Penn's  Mount.  This 
point  of  outlook  is  an  isolated  remnant  of  Potsdam 
sandstone,  lying,  the  geologists  say,  unconformably 
on  the  Laurentian  rock. 

Beyond  Reading,  the  Schuylkill  breaks  through 
the  Blue  Ridge  at  Port  Clinton  Gap,  eighteen  miles 
to  the  northwest.  The  winding  and  romantic  pass 
is  about  three  miles  long,  and  just  beyond  there  is,  at 
Port  Clinton,  a  maze  of  railway  lines  where  the 
Reading  Company  unites  its  branches  converging 
from  various  parts  of  the  anthracite  coal-fields.  The 
Little  Schuylkill  River  here  falls  into  the  larger 
stream,  and  a  branch  follows  it  northward  to  Ta~ 
maqua,  while  the  main  line  goes  westward  to  Potts- 
ville.  The  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge  is  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  coal-fields,  and  the  country  beyond 
is  wild  and  broken.  The  next  great  Allegheny 
ridge  extending  across  the  country  is  the  Broad 
Mountain  beyond  Pottsville,  though  between  it  and 
the  Blue  Ridge  there  are  several  smaller  ridges,  one 
being  Sharp  Mountain.  The  country  is  generally 
black  from  the  coal,  and  the  narrow  and  crooked 
Schuylkill  has  its  waters  begrimed  by  the  masses  of 


190     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

culm  and  refuse  from  the  mines.  Schuylkill  Haven, 
ninety  miles  from  Philadelphia,  is  where  the  coal 
trains  are  made  up,  and  branches  diverge  to  the 
mines  in  various  directions.  Three  miles  beyond  is 
Pottsville,  confined  within  a  deep  valley  among  the 
mountains,  its  buildings  spreading  up  their  steep 
sides,  for  here  the  malodorous  and  blackened  little 
river  breaks  through  Sharp  Mountain.  This  is  a 
city  of  fifteen  thousand  people,  and  the  chief  town  of 
the  Schuylkill  or  Southern  coal-field,  which  produces 
ten  millions  of  tons  of  anthracite  annually.  The 
whole  country  roundabout  is  a  network  of  railways 
leading  to  the  various  mines  and  breakers,  and  there 
are  nearly  four  hundred  miles  of  railways  in  the 
various  levels  and  galleries  underground.  We  are 
told  that  in  the  eighteenth  century  John  Pott  built 
the  Greenwood  Furnace  and  Forge,  and  laid  out  this 
town ;  and  afterwards,  when  coal-mining  was  devel- 
oped, there  came  a  rush  of  adventurers  hither  j  but 
of  late  years  Pottsville  has  had  a  very  calm  career. 

To  the  northward  of  the  Schuylkill  or  Southern 
coal-field,  and  beyond  the  Broad  Mountain,  is  the 
"Middle  coal-field,"  which  extends  westward  almost 
to  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  includes  the  Mahanoy 
and  Shamokin  Valleys.  Both  these  fields  also  ex- 
tend eastward  into  the  Lehigh  region  ;  and  it  is  note- 
worthy that  as  all  these  coal  measures  extend  east- 
ward they  harden,  while  to  the  westward  they  soften. 
The  hardest  coals  come  from  the  Lehigh  district,  and 


THE  NEW  JEESEY  COAST  EESOKT&  191 

they  gradually  soften  as  they  are  dug  out  to  the 
westward,  until,  on  the  other  side  of  the  main  Alle- 
gheny range,  they  change  into  soft  bituminous,  and 
farther  westward  their  constituents  appear  in  the 
form  of  petroleum  and  as  natural  gases.  The  region 
beyond  Pottsville  is  unattractive.  Various  railways 
connect  the  Schuylkill  and  Lehigh  regions,  and  cross 
over  or  through  the  Broad  Mountain.  The  district 
is  full  of  little  mining  villages,  but  has  not  much  else. 
It  is  a  rough  country,  with  bleak  and  forbidding  hills, 
denuded  of  timber  by  forest  fires,  with  vast  heaps  of 
refuse  cast  out  from  the  mines,  some  of  them  the  ac- 
cumulations of  sixty  or  seventy  years.  Breakers 
are  at  work  grinding  up  the  fuel,  which  pours  with 
thundering  noise  into  the  cars  beneath.  The  surface 
is  strewn  with  rocks  and  debris,  and  the  dirty  waters 
of  the  streams  are  repulsive.  These  blackened 
brooks  of  the  Broad  Mountain  are  the  headwaters  of 
the  Schuylkill  River. 

THE   NEW   JERSEY   COAST   RESORTS. 

The  Delaware  River  divides  Pennsylvania  from 
New  Jersey,  and  at  Camden,  opposite  Philadelphia, 
there  has  grown  another  large  city  from  the  over- 
flow of  its  population.  Ferries,  and  at  the  northern 
end  of  Philadelphia  harbor  an  elevated  railway 
bridge,  cross  over  to  Camden,  while  for  miles  the 
almost  level  surface  of  New  Jersey  has  suburban 
towns  and  villas,  the  homes  of  thousands  whose  busi- 


192     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ness  is  in  Philadelphia.  The  New  Jersey  seacoast 
also  is  a  succession  of  watering-places  where  the 
population  goes  to  cool  off  in  the  summer.  The 
whole  New  Jersey  coast  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  is  a 
series  of  sand  beaches,  interspersed  with  bays, 
sounds  and  inlets,  a  broad  belt  of  pine  lands  behind 
them  separating  the  sea  and  its  bordering  sounds 
and  meadows  from  the  farming  region.  This  coast 
has  become  an  almost  unbroken  chain  of  summer  re- 
sorts from  Cape  May,  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
New  Jersey,  northeastward  through  Sea  Isle  City, 
Avalon,  Ocean  City,  Atlantic  City,  Brigantine,  Beach 
Haven,  Sea  Girt,  Asbury  Park,  Ocean  Grove,  Long 
Branch,  Seabright,  etc.,  to  Sandy  Hook,  where  the 
long  sand-strip  terminates  at  the  entrance  to  New 
York  harbor.  To  these  many  attractive  places  the 
summer  exodus  takes  the  people  by  the  hundreds  of 
thousands.  The  chief  resort  of  all  is  Atlantic  City, 
which  has  come  to  be  the  most  popular  sea-bathing 
place  of  the  country,  the  railroads  running  excursion 
trains  to  it  even  from  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Three 
railroads  lead  over  from  Philadelphia  across  the 
level  Jersey  surface,  and  their  fast  trains  compass 
the  distance,  fifty-six  miles,  in  an  hour.  The  town 
is  built  on  a  narrow  sand-strip  known  as  Absecon 
Island,  which  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
broad  stretch  of  water  and  salt  meadows.  Absecon 
is  an  Indian  word  meaning  u  the  place  of  the  swans." 
The  beach  is  one  of  the  finest  on  the  coast,  and  along 


THE  NEW  JERSEY  COAST  RESORTS.  193 

its  inner  edge  is  the  famous  u  Board  Walk  V  of  At- 
lantic City,  an  elevated  promenade  mostly  forty  feet 
wide,  and  four  miles  long.  On  the  land  side  this 
walk  is  bordered  by  shops,  bathing  establishments 
and  all  kinds  of  amusement  resorts,  while  the  town 
of  hotels,  lodging-houses  and  cottages,  almost  all 
built  of  wood,  stretches  inland.  The  population 
come  out  on  the  u  Board  Walk  "  and  the  great  piers, 
which  stretch  for  a  long  distance  over  the  sea.  It  is 
the  greatest  bathing-place  in  existence,  and  in  the 
height  of  the  season,  July  and  August,  fifty  thousand 
bathers  are  often  seen  in  the  surf  on  a  fine  day,  with 
three  times  as  many  people  watching  them.  Enor- 
mous crowds  of  daily  excursionists  are  carried  down 
there  by  the  railways.  The  permanent  population  is 
about  twenty  thousand,  swollen  in  summer  often 
fifteen-  or  twenty-fold.  Atlantic  City  is  also  a  popu- 
lar resort  in  winter  and  spring,  and  is  usually  well 
filled  at  Eastertide. 

The  other  New  Jersey  resorts  are  somewhat  simi- 
lar, though  smaller.  Cape  May,  on  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Cape,  is  popular,  and  has  a  fine  beach 
five  miles  long.  The  coast  for  many  miles  north- 
eastward has  cottage  settlements,  the  beaches  having 
similar  characteristics.  Many  of  these  settlements 
also  cluster  around  Great  Egg  Harbor  and  Barnegat 
Bay,  both  favorite  resorts  of  sportsmen  for  fishing 
and  shooting.  Asbury  Park  and  Ocean  Grove  are 
twin  watering-places  on  the  northern  Jersey  coast 


194     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

which  have  large  crowds  of  visitors.  The  former  is 
usually  filled  by  the  overflow  from  the  latter,  who 
object  to  the  Ocean  Grove  restrictions.  Ocean  Grove 
is  unique,  and  was  established  in  1870  by  a  Cfamp 
Meeting  Association  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Here  many  thousands,  both  young  and 
old,  voluntarily  spend  their  summer  vacations  under 
a  religious  autocracy  and  obey  the  strict  rules.  It  is 
bounded  by  the  sea,  by  lakes  on  the  north  and  south, 
and  by  a  high  fence  on  the  land  side,  and  the  gates 
are  closed  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  all  day  Sunday. 
The  drinking  of  alcoholic  beverages  and  sale  of  to- 
bacco are  strictly  prohibited,  and  no  theatrical  per- 
formances of  any  kind  are  allowed.  No  bathing, 
riding  or  driving  are  permitted  on  Sunday,  and  at 
other  times  the  character  of  the  bathing-dresses  is 
carefully  regulated.  There  is  a  large  Auditorium, 
accommodating  ten  thousand  people,  and  here  are 
held  innumerable  religious  meetings  of  all  kinds. 
The  annual  Camp  Meeting  is  the  great  event  of  the 
season,  and  among  the  attractions  is  an  extensive 
and  most  complete  model  of  the  City  of  Jerusalem. 

To  the  northward  is  Long  Branch,  the  most  fash- 
ionable and  exclusive  of  the  New  Jersey  coast  re- 
sorts, being  mainly  a  succession  of  grand  villas  and 
elaborate  hotels,  stretching  for  about  four  miles  along 
a  bluff  which  here  makes  the  coast,  and  has  grass 
growing  down  to  its  outer  edge  almost  over  the 
water.     In   the   three    sections   of  the   West  End, 


SHACKAMAXON  TO  BRISTOL.  195 

Elberon  and  Long  Branch  proper,  the  latter  getting 
its  name  from  the  "  Long  branch  "  of  the  Shrews- 
bury River,  there  are  about  eight  thousand  regular 
inhabitants,  and  there  come  here  about  fifty  thousand 
summer  visitors,  largely  from  New  York,  The  great 
highway  is  Ocean  Avenue,  running  for  five  miles 
just  inside  the  edge  of  the  bluff,  which,  in  the  season, 
is  a  most  animated  and  attractive  roadway.  The 
hotels  and  cottages  generally  face  this  avenue.  The 
most  noted  cottages  are  the  one  which  General  Grant 
occupied  for  many  years,  and  where,  during  his 
Presidency  in  1869-77,  he  held  u  the  summer  capi- 
tal of  the  United  States,"  and  the  Franklyn  Cottage, 
where  President  Garfield,  after  being  shot  in  Wash- 
ington, was  brought  to  die  in  1881.  The  most 
famous  show  place  at  Long  Branch  is  Hollywood,  the 
estate  of  the  late  John  Hoey,  of  Adams  Express 
Company,  who  died  there  in  1892,  its  elaborate 
floral  decorations  being  much  admired. 

SHACKAMAXON   TO   BRISTOL. 

Journeying  up  the  Delaware  from  Philadelphia,  we 
pass  Petty  Island,  where  the  great  Indian  chief  of 
the  Lenni  Lenapes,  Tamanend,  had  his  lodge — the 
chieftain  since  immortalized  as  St.  Tammany,  who 
has  given  his  name  to  the  Tammany  Society  of  poli- 
ticians who  rule  New  York  City.  Petty  on  the  old 
maps  is  called  Shackamaxon  Island,  a  derivation  of 
the  original  Indian  name  of  Cackamensi.     St.  Tarn- 


196     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

many  is  described  as  a  chief  who  was  so  virtuous 
that  "  his  countrymen  could  only  account  for  the  per- 
fections they  ascribe  to  him  by  supposing  him  to  be 
favored  with  the  special  communications  of  the  Great 
Spirit."  In  the  eighteenth  century  many  societies 
were  formed  in  his  honor,  and  his  festival  was  kept 
on  the  1st  of  May,  but  the  New  York  Society  is  the 
only  one  that  has  survived.  Farther  up,  the  Tacony 
Creek  flows  into  the  Delaware,  the  United  States 
having  a  spacious  arsenal  upon  its  banks.  The  name 
of  this  creek  was  condensed  before  Penn's  time,  by 
the  Swedes,  from  its  Indian  title  of  Taokanink.  Be- 
yond, the  great  manufacturing  establishments  of  the 
city  gradually  change  to  charming  villas  as  we  move 
along  the  pleasant  sloping  banks  and  through  the 
level  country,  and  soon  we  pass  the  northeastern 
boundary  of  Philadelphia,  at  Torresdale.  This  bound- 
ary is  made  by  the  Poquessing  Creek,  being  the  abo- 
riginal Poetquessink,  or  "  the  stream  of  the  dragons." 
Across  the  river,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  formerly 
roamed  the  Rankokas  Indians,  an  Algonquin  tribe, 
whose  name  is  preserved  in  the  Rancocas  Creek, 
which  is  one  of  the  chief  tributaries  flowing  in  from 
New  Jersey.  At  Beverly,  not  far  above,  is  one  of 
the  most  popular  suburban  resorts,  the  villas  cluster- 
ing around  a  broad  cove,  known  as  Edgewater,  which 
appears  much  like  a  miniature  Bay  of  Naples.  Over 
opposite  is  the  wide  Neshaminy  Creek,  flowing  down 
from  the  Buckingham  Mountain  in  Pennsylvania,  its 


8HACKAMAX0N  TO  BBISTOL.  197 

Indian  title  of  Nischam-hanne,  meaning  u  the  two 
streams  flowing  together,"  referring  to  its  branches. 
The  earliest  settlers  along  this  creek  were  Scotch- 
Irish,  and  their  pastor  in  1726  was  Rev.  William 
Tennent,  the  famous  Presbyterian  preacher,  who 
founded  the  celebrated  "  Log  College "  on  the  Ne- 
shaminy,  "built  of  logs,  chinked  and  daubed  between, 
and  one  story  high,"  as  it  was  well  described.  From 
this  simple  college,  which  was  about  twenty  feet 
square,  were  sent  out  many  of  the  famous  Presby- 
terian preachers  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  and  from 
it  grew,  in  1746,  the  great  College  of  New  Jersey  at 
Princeton,  and  in  1783  Dickinson  College,  at  Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania,  besides  many  other  schools  which 
were  started  by  its  alumni.  William  Tennent's  son, 
Gilbert,  was  his  assistant  and  successor.  The  great 
Whitefield  preached  to  an  audience  of  three  thousand 
at  this  College  in  1739.  He  was  attracted  there 
by  Gilbert  Tennent's  fame  as  a  preacher,  and  of 
him  on  one  occasion  wrote,  "  I  went  to  the  meet- 
ing house  to  hear  Mr.  Gilbert  Tennent  preach,  and 
never  before  heard  I  such  a  searching  sermon  j  he 
is  a  son  of  thunder,  and  does  not  regard  the  face  of 
man." 

The  Delaware  River  broadens  into  two  channels 
around  Burlington  Island,  having  on  either  hand  the 
towns  of  Bristol  and  Burlington,  both  coeval  with"  the 
first  settlement  of  Philadelphia,  and  Bristol  at  that 
*arly  day  having  had  an  ambition  to  become  the  loca- 


198     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

tion  of  Penn's  great  city.  The  ferry  connecting 
them  was  established  two  years  before  Penn  came  to 
Philadelphia,  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  they  had 
a  larger  carrying  trade.  Bristol  began  in  1680 
under  a  grant  from  Edmund  Andros,  then  the  Pro- 
vincial Governor  of  New  York,  for  a  town  site  and 
the  ferry,  which  is  curiously  described  in  the  Colonial 
records  as  u  the  ferry  against  Burlington/'  then  the 
chief  town  in  West  Jersey.  The  settlement  was 
called  New  Bristol,  from  Bristol  in  England,  where 
lived  Penn's  wife,  Hannah  Callowhill.  It  was  the 
first  county  seat  of  Bucks  when  Penn  divided  his 
Province  into  the  three  counties — Chester,  Phila- 
delphia and  Buckingham.  It  was  for  many  years 
a  great  exporter  of  flour  to  the  West  Indies.  Its 
ancient  Quaker  Meeting  House  dates  from  1710, 
and  St.  James'  Episcopal  Church  from  1712;  but 
the  latter,  which  received  its  silver  communion 
service  from  the  good  Queen  Anne,  fell  into  decay 
and  has  been  replaced  by  a  modern  structure. 
Its  Bath  Mineral  Springs  made  it  the  most  fashion- 
able watering-place  in  America  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  but  Saratoga  afterwards  eclipsed  them,  and 
their  glory  has  departed.  Prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, Bristol  built  more  shipping  than  Philadelphia; 
and,  while  quiet  and  restful,  its  comfortable  homes 
and  the  picturesque  villas  along  the  Delaware 
River  bank  above  the  town  tell  of  its  prosperity 
now. 


OLD  BUELINGTON.  199 


OLD   BURLINGTON. 

The  ancient  town  of  Burlington,  clustered  behind 
its  "  Green  Bank  "  or  river-front  street  on  the  New 
Jersey  shore,  antedates  Philadelphia  five  years.  The 
Quaker  pioneers  are  believed  to  have  been  the  first 
Europeans  who  saw  its  site.  The  noted  preacher 
George  Fox,  in  1672,  journeyed  from  New  England 
to  the  South,  and  rode  on  horseback  over  the  site  of 
Burlington  at  Assiscunk  Creek,  reporting  the  soil  as 
good  "and  withal  a  most  brave  country."  When 
Penn  became  Trustee  for  the  insolvent  Billynge,  a 
Proprietor  of  West  Jersey,  much  of  his  land  was 
sold  to  Quakers,  who  migrated  to  the  American 
wilderness  to  escape  persecution  at  home.  Thus 
Burlington  was  the  first  settlement  founded  by  Quaker 
eeekers  after  toleration  in  the  New  World : 

"  About  them  seemed  but  ruin  and  decay, 
Cheerless,  forlorn,  a  rank  autumnal  fen, 
Where  no  good  plant  might  prosper,  or  again 

Put  forth  fresh  leaves  for  those  that  fell  away  ; 

Nor  could  they  find  a  place  wherein  to  pray 
For  better  things.     In  righteous  anger  then 
They  turned  ;  they  fled  the  wilderness  of  men 

And  sought  the  wilderness  of  God.     And  day 
Eose  upon  day,  while  ever  manfully 

"Westward  they  battled  with  the  ocean's  might, 
Strong  to  endure  whatever  fate  should  be, 

And  watching  in  the  tempest  and  the  night 
That  one  sure  Pharos  of  the  soul's  dark  sea -^ 

The  constant  beacon  of  the  Inner  Light." 


200     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCK1PTIYE. 

In  the  spring  of  1677  the  "  goode  shippe  Kent," 
Gregory  Marlowe,  master,  sailed  from  London,  bound 
for  West  Jersey,  with  two  hundred  and  thirty 
Quakers,  about  half  coming  from  London  and  the 
others  from  Yorkshire ;  two  dying  on  the  voyage. 
They  ascended  the  Delaware  to  the  meadow  lands 
below  the  mouth  of  Assiscunk  Creek,  landing  there 
in  June,  and  in  October  made  a  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians, buying  their  lands  from  the  Rancocas  as  far 
up  as  Assunpink  Creek  at  Trenton.  Their  settlement 
was  first  called  New  Beverly,  and  then  Bridlington, 
from  the  Yorkshire  town  whence  many  of  them  came, 
but  it  finally  was  named  Burlington.  They  made  a 
street  along  the  river,  bordered  with  greensward,  and 
called  the  "  Green  Bank,"  and  drew  a  straight  line 
back  inland,  calling  it  their  Main  Street,  and  the  Lon- 
doners settled  on  one  side  and  the  Yorkshiremen  on 
the  other.  The  old  buttonwood  tree,  to  which  was 
moored  the  early  ships  bringing  settlers,  still  stands 
on  the  Green  Bank,  a  subject  of  weird  romance. 
Elizabeth  Powell,  the  first  white  child,  was  born  in 
July,  1677.  The  next  May,  1678,  they  established 
a  "  Monthly  Meeting  of  Friends  "  at  Burlington,  of 
which  the  records  have  been  faithfully  kept.  In 
June  the  graveyard  was  fenced  in,  and  the  old  Indian 
chief,  Ockanickon,  a  Quaker  convert  to  Christianity, 
was  among  the  first  buried  .there.  In  August  the  first 
Quaker  marriage  was  solemnized  in  meeting,  this 
first  certificate  being  signed  by  ten  men  and  three 


OLD  BURLINGTON.  201 

women  Friends  as  witnesses.  In  1682,  just  as  Penn 
was  coming  over,  they  decided  to  build  their  first 
meeting  house — a  hexagonal  building,  forty  feet  in 
diameter,  with  pyramidal  roof,  which  was  occupied 
the  next  year.  In  1685  they  decided  that  a  hearse 
should  be  built,  the  entry  on  the  record  being  an 
order  for  a  °  carriage  to  be  built  for  ye  use  of  such 
as  are  to  be  laid  in  ye  ground." 

Burlington  grew,  and  was  long  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  the  Province  of  West  Jersey,  being  the 
official  residence  of  the  Provincial  Governors,  the 
last  of  whom  was  William  Franklin,  natural  son  of 
Benjamin  Franklin.  It  had  wealthy  merchants  and 
much  shipping,  and,  despite  its  peacefulness,  equipped 
privateers  to  fight  the  French.  Its  famous  old  Epis- 
copal Church  of  St.  Mary  had  the  corner-stone  laid  in 
1703  under  the  favor  of  Queen  Anne,  who  made  a 
liberal  endowment  of  lands,  much  being  yet  held,  and 
gave  it  a  massive  and  greatly  prized  communion  ser- 
vice. This  old  church  is  cruciform,  with  a  little  bel- 
fry, and  a  stone  let  into  the  front  wall  bears  the  in- 
scription u  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  In 
the  extensive  churchyard  alongside  is  the  modern 
St.  Mary's  Church,  of  brownstone,  with  a  tall  spire, 
also  cruciform.  This  is  the  finest  church  in  Burlington. 
When  "  Old  St.  Mary's "  was  built  with  its  belfry, 
the  Friends  did  not  like  the  innovation,  and  long 
gazed  askance  at  the  "  steeple  house,"  as  they  called 
it ;  so  that  Talbot,  the  first  rector,  sturdily  retaliated, 


202      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

calling  the  Quakers  "  anti-Christians,  who  are  worse 
than  the  Turks."  Many  of  St.  Mary's  parishioners 
of  to-day  are  descended  from  these  maligned  Quakers. 
The  early  records  of  the  Meeting  are  filled  with  en- 
tries showing  that  charges  were  brought  against  mem- 
bers for  various  shortcomings.  One  was  admonished 
for  "taking  off  his  hat"  at  a  funeral  solemnized  in 
the  u  steeple  house  j"  others  gave  testimony  of  "  un- 
easiness f?  on  account  of  the  placing  of  "  gravestones 
in  the  burial-ground j "  a  query  was  propounded, 
"  Are  Friends  in  meeting  preserved  from  sleeping  or 
any  other  indecent  behavior,  particularly  from  chew- 
ing tobacco  and  taking  snuff?"  A  record  was  also 
made  of  testimony  against  "  a  pervading  custom  of 
working  on  First  days  in  the  time  of  hay  and  har- 
vest "  when  rain  threatened.  The  descendants  of 
these  good  people  have  established  St.  Mary's  Hall 
and  Burlington  College,  noted  educational  institutions. 
Probably  the  most  famous  son  of  Burlington  was 
the  distinguished  novelist,  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
born  in  1789,  but  taken  in  his  infancy  by  his  parents 
to  his  future  home  at  Cooperstown,  in  Central  New 
York.  The  town  was  bombarded  by  the  British  gun- 
boats that  sailed  up  the  Delaware  in  1778,  but  since 
then  the  career  of  Burlington  has  been  eminently 
peaceful. 

BORDENTOWN    AND   ITS   MEMORIES. 

Above   Burlington    Island    the    Delaware    winds 
around  a  jutting  tongue  of  flat  land,  "  Penn's  Neck," 


BOEDENTOWN  AND  ITS  MEMOKIES.  203 

which  is  one  of  the  noted  regions  of  the  river,  the  an- 
cient "Manor  of  Pennsbury."  This  was  Penn's 
country  home,  originally  a  tract  of  over  eight  thou- 
sand acres,  the  Indian  domain  of  "  Sepessing."  His 
house,  which  he  occupied  in  1700-01,  was  then  the 
finest  on  the  river,  but  it  long  ago  fell  into  decay,  and 
the  manor  was  all  sold  away  from  his  descendants 
during  the  eighteenth  century.  At  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  "  Penn's  Neck,"  on  the  New  Jersey  shore, 
is  White  Hill,  with  the  village  of  Bordentown  be- 
yond, up  Crosswick's  Creek.  Here  is  a  region  red- 
olent with  historical  associations.  The  old  buildings 
along  the  river  bank  were  the  railway  shops  of  the 
famous  "  Camden  and  Amboy,"  whose  line,  coming 
along  the  Delaware  shore,  goes  off  up  Cross  wick's 
Creek  to  cross  New  Jersey  on  the  route  to  New 
York.  Above  is  the  dense  foliage  of  Bonaparte 
Park,  now  largely  occupied  by  the  Convent  and 
Academy  of  St.  Joseph.  Bordentown  was  a  growth 
of  the  railway,  having  been  previously  little  more 
than  a  ferry,  originally  started  by  Joseph  Borden. 
Its  most  distinguished  townsman  was  Admiral  Charles 
Stewart,  "  Old  Ironsides  "  of  the  American  navy,  a 
relic  of  the  early  wars  of  the  country,  his  crowning 
achievement  being  the  command  of  the  frigate  "  Con- 
stitution n  when  she  captured  the  two  British  vessels, 
"Cyane  *  and  "Levant."  He  was  the  "  Senior  Flag 
Officer "  of  the  navy  when  he  died  in  1860  on  his 
Bordentown  farm,  to  which  he  had  returned.     The 


204     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

old  house  where  he  lived  is  on  a  bluff  facing  the  river. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  the  noted  Irish  leader, 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell. 

To  Bordentown,  in  1816,  Joseph  Bonaparte,  the 
ex-King  of  Naples  and  of  Spain,  and  eldest  brother  of 
Napoleon,  came  to  live,  as  the  Count  de  Survilliers, 
and  bought  the  estate  known  since  as  Bonaparte 
Park.  It  was  through  Stewart's  persuasion,  mainly, 
that  he  located  there,  the  estate  covering  ten  farms 
of  about  one  thousand  acres.  Lafayette  visited  him 
in  1824,  and  Louis  Napoleon,  afterwards  Napoleon 
III.,  in  1837.  Joseph  returned  to  Europe  in  1839, 
dying  in  Florence  in  1844.  Another  famous  resi- 
dent of  Bordentown  was  Prince  Murat,  the  nephew 
of  Napoleon  and  of  Joseph,  and  the  son  of  the  dash- 
ing Prince  Joachim  Murat,  who  was  King  of  the 
Sicilies,  and  was  shot  by  sentence  of  court-martial 
after  Waterloo.  Prince  Murat  came  in  1822,  bought 
a  farm,  got  married,  lived  a  rather  wild  life,  but  was 
generally  liked,  and,  going  through  various  fortunes, 
returned  to  France  after  the  Revolution  of  1848  and 
was  restored  to  his  honors.  He  was  with  Marshal 
Bazaine  in  the  capitulation  of  Metz  in  1870  and  be- 
came a  prisoner  of  war,  and  died  in  1878. 

THE    STORY    OF   CAMDEN   AND    AMBOY. 

The  great  memory  of  Bordentown,  however,  is  of 
the  famous  railroad,  originally  begun  there,  whose 
managers  for  nearly  a  half-century  so   successfully 


THE  STORY  OF  CAMDEN  AND  AMBOY.         205 

ruled  New  Jersey  that  it  came  to  be  generally  known 
throughout  the  country  as  "  the  State  of  Camden  and 
Amboy."  In  the  little  old  Bordentown  station,  which 
still  exists,  set  in  the  bottom  of  a  ravine,  with  the 
house  built  over  the  railroad,  were  for  many  years 
held  the  annual  meetings  of  the  corporation ;  and  its 
magnates  also  met  in  almost  perpetual  session,  to  gen- 
erally run  things,  social,  political  and  financial,  for  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  and  semi-annually  declare  mag- 
nificent dividends.  Not  far  from  this  station  a  monu- 
ment marks  the  place  of  construction  of  the  first  piece 
of  railway  track  in  New  Jersey,  laid  by  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Company  in  1831.  Upon  this  track  the 
first  movement  of  a  passenger  train  by  steam  was 
made  by  the  locomotive  "  John  Bull,"  on  November 
12th  of  that  year.  This  granite  monument,  erected 
in  1891  to  commemorate  the  sixtieth  anniversary, 
stands  upon  a  foundation  composed  of  the  stone  blocks 
on  which  the  first  rails  were  laid,  and  two  of  these 
original  rails  encircle  it.  A  bronze  tablet  upon  the 
monument  represents  the  old  "  John  Bull,"  with  his 
primitive  whisky -cask  tender,  and  the  two  little  old- 
time  passenger  coaches  which  made  up  the  first  train 
he  drew.  Thus  began  the  great  railroad  highway 
between  the  two^  chief  cities  of  the  United  States. 

The  original  method  of  transport  between  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York  was  by  steamboat  on  the 
Delaware  to  South  Trenton,  stages  from  Trenton  to 
New  Brunswick  on  the  Raritan  River,  and  then  by 


206      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

steamboat  to  New  York.  This  was  the  u  Union 
Line/'  which  for  many  years  carried  the  passengers, 
and  of  which  John  Stevens  was  the  active  spirit.  He 
conceived  the  first  idea  of  a  railway,  and  in  1817 
procured  the  first  railway  charter  in  America  for  a 
railroad  upon  his  stage  route  between  Trenton  and 
New  Brunswick.  In  subsequent  years  there  were 
advocates  both  of  a  railway  and  a  canal  across  New 
Jersey,  his  son,  Robert  L.  Stevens,  being  the  rail- 
way chieftain,  while  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton 
championed  the  canal,  the  rival  projects  appearing 
before  the  New  Jersey  Legislature  in  1829-30,  and 
causing  a  most  bitter  controversy.  It  is  related  that 
the  conflict  was  ended  in  a  most  surprising  manner. 
Between  the  acts  of  a  play  at  the  old  Park  Theatre 
in  New  York,  Stevens  and  Stockton  accidentally  met 
in  the  vestibule,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  talk  agreed 
to  end  their  dispute  by  joining  forces.  The  result 
was  that  on  February  4,  1830,  both  companies  were 
chartered — the  u  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  and 
Transportation  Company  n  and  the  "  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal  Company."  In  furtherance  of  this 
compromise,  what  is  known  as  the  celebrated  "  Mar- 
riage Act"  was  passed  a  year  later,  creating  the 
"  Joint  Companies,"  their  stock  being  combined  at 
the  same  valuation,  though  each  had  a  separate  or- 
ganization. They  were  given  a  monopoly  of  the 
business,  paying  transit  dues  to  the  State  of  ten  cents 
per  passenger  and  fifteen   cents  per  ton  of  freight 


THE  STOEY  OF  CAMDEN  AND  AMBOY.         207 

carried,  and  this  afterwards  practically  paid  all  the 
expenses  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Government.  The 
railroad  was  completed  between  Bordentown  and 
Amboy  in  1832,  and  on  December  17th  the  first  pas- 
sengers went  through,  fifty  or  sixty  of  them.  It  was 
a  rainy  day,  and  the  cars  were  drawn  by  horses,  for 
they  could  not  in  those  days  trust  their  locomotive 
out  in  the  rain.  The  next  year  regular  travel  began, 
galloping  horses  taking  the  cars  from  Bordentown 
over  to  Amboy  in  about  three  hours,  there  being 
three  relays.  Later  in  the  year  the  locomotive 
"  John  Bull n  took  one  train  daily,  each  way.  In 
1871  all  the  railway  and  canal  properties  of  the  two 
companies,  which  had  become  very  extensive,  were 
absorbed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  which  pays 
as  rental  10  per  cent,  annual  dividends  on  the  stocks. 
The  line  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal 
begins  at  Crosswick's  Creek  in  Bordentown,  and  is 
constructed  alongside  the  Delaware  River  up  to 
Trenton,  and  thence  across  New  Jersey  to  the  Rari- 
tan River  at  New  Brunswick.  This  is  a  much-used 
u  inside  water  route,"  and  it  had  one  of  the  old  lines 
of  the  railroad  constructed  on  the  canal  bank  all  the 
way.  It  was  in  former  times  a  very  profitable 
route,  and  is  said  to  have  made  most  of  the  dividends 
of  the  old  monopoly,  as  it  carried  the  greater  part  of 
the  freight  between  the  cities.  It  was  originally  pro- 
jected in  1804,  but  the  scheme  slumbered  for  years. 
When  the  route  was  surveyed  through  Princeton, 


208     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

where  Commodore  Stockton  lived,  he  became  inter- 
ested, and  he  induced  his  father-in-law,  John  Potter, 
of  South  Carolina,  who  had  over  $500,000  in  the 
United  States  Bank,  to  withdraw  the  money  and  in- 
vest it  in  the  canal,  he  being  the  chief  shareholder. 
Thus  his  fortune  was  not  only  saved  from  the  bank's 
subsequent  collapse,  but  was  increased  by  the  profit- 
able investment.  The  canal  is  forty -three  miles  long, 
with  fourteen  locks  in  its  course,  having  an  aggre- 
gate rise  and  fall  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Its 
enlargement  to  the  dimensions  of  a  ship  canal  is  sug- 
gested. 

THE   TRENTON    GRAVEL. 

In  journeying  up  the  Delaware  and  approaching 
Trenton,  we  have  passed  through  a  region  of  most 
interesting  geological  development.  All  along  are 
evidences  of  the  deposit  of  the  drift  from  above, 
which  is  popularly  known  as  the  "Trenton  gravel." 
The  Delaware  flows  southeast  from  the  Kittatinny 
Water  Gap  to  Bordentown,  and  then,  impinging 
against  the  cretaceous  stratified  rocks  of  New  Jersey, 
abruptly  turns  around  a  right-angled  bend  and  goes 
off  southwestward  towards  Philadelphia.  The  river 
has  thus  deposited  the  Trenton  gravels,  composed  of 
the  drift  of  most  of  the  geological  formations  in  its 
upper  waters,  throughout  its  course,  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania side  from  Trenton  down  below  Philadelphia. 
This  deposit  is  fifty  feet  deep  on  the  river  bank  in 
Philadelphia,  and  underlies  the  river  bed  for  nearly  a 


THE  TBENTON  GEAVEL.  209 

hundred  feet  in  depth.  At  Bristol  the  deposit  stretches 
two  miles  back  from  the  river,  and  at  Trenton  it  is 
almost  universal.  The  material,  which  in  the  lower 
reaches  is  generally  fine,  grows  coarser  as  the  river 
is  ascended,  until  at  Trenton  immense  boulders  are 
often  found  imbedded.  We  are  told  by  geologists 
that  at  the  time  of  the  great  flood  in  the  river  which 
deposited  the  gravel,  the  lower  part  of  Philadelphia, 
the  whole  of  Bristol  and  Penn's  Neck  and  almost  all 
Trenton  were  under  water.  The  gravel  has  dis- 
closed bones  of  Arctic  animals — walrus,  reindeer  and 
mastodon — and  also  traces  of  ancient  mankind. 
The  latter  have  been  found  at  Trenton  and  on  Ne- 
shaminy  Creek,  indicating  the  presence  of  a  race  of 
men  said  to  have  lived  about  seven  thousand  years 
ago.  The  river  has  also  made  immense  clay  de- 
posits all  along,  which  was  done  at  a  time  when  the 
water  flowed  at  a  level  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
higher  than  now. 

In  the  early  geological  history  of  the  Delaware  it 
is  found  that  all  southern  New  Jersey  lay  deep  be- 
neath the  Atlantic,  whose  waves  broke  against  the 
ranges  of  hills  northwest  and  north  of  Philadelphia, 
and  an  inlet  from  the  sea  extended  into  the  great 
Chester  limestone  valley  behind  them.  This  whole 
region,  then  probably  five  hundred  feet  lower  than 
now,  was  afterwards  slowly  upheaved,  and  the  waters 
retreated.  Subsequently  the  climate  grew  colder, 
and  the  great  glacial  ice-cap  crept  down  from  Green- 


210      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

land  and  Labrador,  forming  a  huge  sea  of  ice,  thou- 
sands of  feet  thick,  which  advanced  on  the  Delaware 
to  Belvidere,  sixty  miles  north  of  Philadelphia.  Then 
there  came  another  gradual  change;  the  land  de- 
scended to  nearly  two  hundred  feet  below  the  present 
level,  and  again  the  waters  overflowed  almost  the 
whole  region.  This  was  ice-cold,  fresh  water,  bear- 
ing huge  icebergs  and  floes,  which  stranded  on  the 
hills,  forming  a  shore  on  the  higher  lands  northwest 
of  Philadelphia.  The  river  channel  was  then  ten 
miles  wide  and  two  hundred  feet  deep  all  the  way 
down  from  Trenton,  and  a  roaring  flood  depositing 
the  red  gravel  along  its  bed.  As  the  torrent,  ex- 
pending its  force,  though  still  filled  with  mud  and 
sand  from  the  base  of  the  glacial  ice-cap,  became 
more  quiet,  it  laid  down  the  clays,  the  stranded  ice- 
bergs dropping  their  far-carried  boulders  all  along 
the  route.  This  era  of  cold  water  and  enormous 
floods  is  computed  to  have  occupied  a  period  of 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  years,  and 
then  the  "  Ice  Age  "  finally  terminated.  The  land 
rose  about  to  its  present  level,  the  waters  retreated, 
and  elevated  temperatures  thawed  more  and  more  of 
the  glaciers  remaining  in  the  headwaters,  so  that 
there  came  down  the  last  great  floods  which  depos- 
ited the  "  Trenton  gravel."  The  river  was  still 
wide  and  deep,  and  Arctic  animals  roamed  the 
banks.  Mankind  then  first  appeared,  living  in  prim- 
itive ways  in  caves  and  holes,  and  hunting  and  fish* 


TRENTON  AND  ITS  BATTLE  MONUMENT.      211 

ing  along  the  swollen  Delaware  ten  thousand  years 
ago.  Occasionally  they  dropped  in  the  waters  their 
rude  stone  implements  and  weapons,  which  were 
buried  in  the  gravel,  and,  being  recently  found,  are 
studied  to  tell  the  story  of  their  ancient  owners. 
The  river  deposited  its  gravel  and  the  channel  shrunk 
with  dwindling  current,  moving  gradually  eastward 
as  it  eat  its  way  into  the  cretaceous  measures.  The 
primitive  man  retired,  making  way  for  the  red  In- 
dian, and  the  present  era  dawned,  with  the  more 
moderate  climate,  and  with  again  a  slow  sinking  of 
the  land,  which  the  geologists  say  is  now  in  progress. 

TRENTON  AND  ITS  BATTLE  MONUMENT. 

Trenton,  the  capital  of  New  Jersey,  is  thirty  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  a  prosperous  city  with  seventy 
thousand  people.  The  first  and  most  lasting  impres- 
sion many  visitors  get  of  it  is  of  the  deep  rift  cut 
into  the  clays  and  gravels  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
town,  to  let  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  go  through. 
Here,  as  everywhere,  are  displayed  the  lavish  de- 
posits of  the  "  Trenton  gravel "  as  the  railway  passes 
under  the  streets,  and  even  under  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal,  to  its  depressed  station  alongside  As- 
sunpink  Creek  of  Revolutionary  memory,  the  chief 
part  of  the  city  spreading  far  to  the  northward. 
Trenton  is  as  old  as  Philadelphia,  its  reputed  founder 
being  Mahlon  Stacy,  who  came  up  from  Burlington 
Friends7  Meeting,  while  the  settlement  was  named 
Vol.  l—io 


212     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

for  William  Trent,  an  early  Jersey  law-maker.  The 
Trenton  potteries  are  its  chief  industry,  established 
by  a  colony  of  Staffordshire  potters  from  England, 
attracted  by  its  prolific  clay  deposits  ;  and  the  conical 
kilns,  which  turn  out  a  product  worth  five  or  six  mil- 
lions of  dollars  annually,  are  scattered  at  random 
over  the  place.  Their  china  ware  has  been  advanced 
to  a  high  stage  of  perfection,  and  displays  exquisite 
decoration.  The  Trenton  cracker  factories  are  also 
famous.  The  finest  building  is  the  State  House,  as 
the  Capitol  is  called,  the  Delaware  River's  swift  cur- 
rent bubbling  over  rocks  and  among  grassy  islands 
out  in  front  of  the  grounds.  At  Broad  and  Clinton 
Streets,  the  intersection  of  two  of  the  chief  high- 
ways, mounted  as  an  ornament  upon  a  drinking-foun- 
tain,  is  the  famous  "  Swamp  Angel "  cannon,  brought 
from  Charleston  harbor  after  the  Civil  War.  This 
was  one  of  the  earliest  heavy  guns  made,  plain  and 
rather  uncouth-looking,  about  ten  feet  long,  and 
rudely  constructed  in  contrast  with  the  elongated  and 
tapering  rifled  cannon  of  to-day,  and  it  rests  upon  a 
conical  pile  of  brownstone.  It  was  the  most  noted 
gun. of  the  Civil  War,  an  eight-inch  Parrott  rifle,  or 
two-hundred-pounder,  and,  when  fired,  carried  a 
one-hundred-and-fifty-pound  projectile  seven  thou- 
sand yards  from  a  battery  on  Morris  Island  into  the 
city  of  Charleston,  which  was  then  regarded  as  a 
prodigious  achievement.  It  is  a  muzzle-loader,  weigh- 
ing about  eight  tons,  and  burst  after  firing  thirty-six 


•"'"■     «« 


<  *tec  • 


TKENTON  AND  ITS  BATTLE  MONUMENT.      213 

rounds  at  Charleston,  in  August,  1863,  the  fracture 
being  plainly  seen  around  the  breech. 

Trenton's  great  historical  feature  is  the  Revolu- 
tionary battlefield,  now  completely  built  upon.  Wash- 
ington, having  crossed  the  Delaware  on  Christmas 
night,  in  the  early  morning  of  December  26,  1776, 
marched  down  to  Trenton,  and  surprised  and  defeated 
the  Hessians  under  Rahl,  who  were  encamped  north 
of  Assunpink  Creek.  A  fine  battle-monument  stands 
in  a  small  park  adjoining  Warren  Street,  at  the  point 
where  Washington's  army,  coming  into  town  from 
the  north,  first  engaged  the  enemy.  Here  Alexander 
Hamilton,  then  Captain  of  the  New  York  State  Com- 
pany of  Artillery,  opened  fire  from  his  battery  on  the 
Hessians,  who  fled  through  the  town,  along  Warren, 
then  called  King  Street.  The  monument  is  a  fluted 
Roman-Doric  column,  rising  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  feet,  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  Washington, 
representing  him  standing,  field-glass  in  hand,  sur- 
veying the  flying  Hessians,  his  right  arm  pointing 
down  Warren  Street.  The  elevated  top  of  this 
monument  gives  a  grand  view  over  the  surrounding 
country,  the  course  of  the  Delaware  being  traced  for 
miles.  The  subsequent  fortnight's  campaign  ending 
in  the  battle  of  Princeton  revived  the  drooping  spirits 
of  the  Americans,  and  was  said  by  as  accomplished 
a  soldier  as  Frederick  the  Great  to  be  among  "  the 
most  brilliant  in  the  annals  of  military  achievements." 
Trenton  is  at  the  head  of  tidewater  on  the  Delaware, 


214     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

the  stream  coming  down  rapids,  known  as  the  "Falls." 
On  the  Pennsylvania  side  is  Morrisville,  called  after 
Kobert  Morris,  who  lived  there  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. His  estate  subsequently  became  the  home  of 
the  famous  French  General  Jean  Victor  Moreau,  the 
victor  at  Hohenlinden,  who  was  exiled  by  Napoleon 
in  1804.  He  returned  to  Europe  afterwards  at  the 
invitation  of  the  Czar  Alexander,  and  devised  for  him 
a  plan  for  invading  France.  They  were  both  at  the 
battle  of  Dresden  in  1813,  and  were  consulting  about 
a  certain  manoeuvre  when  a  cannon  ball  from  Napo- 
leon's Guard  broke  both  Moreau' s  legs,  and  he  died 
five  days  afterwards. 

PRINCETON   BATTLE   AND   COLLEGE. 

A  few  days  after  Washington's  victory  at  Trenton, 
Cornwallis,  in  January,  1777,  advanced  across  Jer- 
sey to  crush  the  Americans,  but  he  was  repulsed-  at 
the  ford  of  Assunpink  Creek  in  Trenton.  Then 
Washington  resorted  to  a  ruse.  Leaving  his  camp- 
fires  brightly  burning  near  the  creek  at  night  to  de- 
ceive the  enemy,  he  quietly  withdrew,  and  made  a 
forced  march  ten  miles  northeast  to  Princeton,  and 
fell  upon  three  British  regiments  there,  who  were 
hastening  to  join  Cornwallis,  defeating  them,  and 
storming  Nassau  Hall,  in  which  some  of  the  fugitives 
had  taken  refuge.  Trenton  is  in  Mercer  County, 
named  in  honor  of  General  Hugh  Mercer,  who  fell  in 
this  battle,  at  the  head  of  the  Philadelphia  troops* 


PRINCETON  BATTLE  AND  COLLEGE.    215 

Princeton  is  a  town  of  about  thirty-five  hundred  in- 
habitants, a  quiet  place  of  elegant  residences,  in  a 
level  and  luxuriant  country.  It  is  the  seat  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  originally  founded  at  Eliza- 
beth, near  New  York,  in  1746,  and  transferred  here 
in  1757.  It  is  best  known  as  Nassau  Hall,  or  Prince- 
ton University,  being  liberally  endowed,  and  having 
notable  buildings  surrounding  its  spacious  campus, 
and  is  a  Presbyterian  foundation,  which  has  about 
eleven  hundred  students.  The  original  Nassau  Hall 
erected  in  1757,  but  burnt  many  years  ago,  was  so 
named  by  the  Synod  "to  express  the  honor  we  re- 
tain in  this  remote  part  of  the  globe  to  the  immortal 
memory  of  the  glorious  King  William  the  Third,  who 
was  a  branch  of  the  illustrious  House  of  Nassau." 
Dr.  John  Witherspoon,  the  celebrated  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian divine,  who  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  was  for  thirty  years  its 
President,  and  among  the  early  graduates  were  two 
other  signers,  Richard  Stockton  and  Benjamin  Rush. 
The  final  conflict  of  the  battle  of  Princeton  raged 
around  this  venerated  building,  and  Washington  pre- 
sented fifty  guineas  to  the  College  to  repair  the  dam- 
age done  by  his  bombardment.  In  the  adjacent 
Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  have  been  edu- 
cated many  able  clergymen.  In  Princeton  Cemetery 
are  the  remains  of  the  wonderful  preacher  and  meta- 
physician, Jonathan  Edwards,  who  became  President 
of  the  College  in  175&  dying  shortly  afterwards.    A 


216     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

panegyrist,  describing  his  merits  as  a  great  Church 
leader,  compressed  all  in  this  remarkable  sentence : 
"  These  three — Augustine,  Calvin  and  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards." His  son-in-law  and  predecessor  as  Presi- 
dent was  Rev.  Aaron  Burr  j  and  near  his  humble 
monument  is  another,  marking  the  grave  of  his  grand- 
son, who  was  an  infant  when  the  great  preacher  died, 
and  whose  career  was  in  such  startling  contrast — the 
notorious  Aaron  Burr,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 

Marshall's  walk. 

The  Delaware  River  above  Trenton  is  for  miles  a 
stream  of  alternating  pools  and  rapids,  with  canals  on 
either  side,  passing  frequent  villages  and  displaying 
pleasant  scenery  as  it  breaks  through  the  successive 
ridges  in  its  approach  to  the  mountains.  Alongside 
the  river,  in  Solebury,  Bucks  County,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  the  humble  home 
of  the  pioneer  and  hunter,  Edward  Marshall,  who 
made  the  fateful  "walk"  of  1737,  the  injustice  of 
which  so  greatly  provoked  the  Indians,  and  was  a 
chief  cause  of  the  most  savage  Indian  War  of  Colo- 
nial times.  All  the  country  west  of  the  Delaware,  as 
far  up  as  the  mouth  of  the  Lackawaxen  River,  was 
obtained  from  the  Indians  by  the  deception  of  this 
"  walk."  The  Indians  in  those  early  times  measured 
their  distances  by  "  days'  journeys,"  and  in  various 
treaties  with  the  white  men  transferred  tracts  of  land 
by  the  measurement  of  "days'  walks."   William  Penn 


MARSHALL'S  WALK.  217 

had  bought  the  land  as  far  up  as  Makefield  and 
Wrightstown  in  Bucks  County,  and  after  his  death 
his  descendants,  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn,  became 
anxious  to  enlarge  the  purchase,  and  this  "walk" 
was  the  result.  After  a  good  deal  of  preliminary 
negotiation,  several  sachems  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes 
were  brought  to  Philadelphia,  and  on  August  25, 
1737,  made  a  treaty  ceding  additional  lands  begin- 
ning u  on  a  line  drawn  from  a  certain  spruce  tree  on 
the  river  Delaware  by  a  west-northwest  course  to 
Neshaminy  Creek ;  from  thence  back  into  the  woods 
as  far  as  a  man  can  go  in  a  day  and  a  half,  and 
bounded  in  the  west  by  Neshaminy  or  the  most 
westerly  branch  thereof,  so  far  as  the  said  branch 
doth  extend,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  to  the  utmost 
extent  of  the  day  and  a  half's  walk,  and  from  thence 
to  the  aforesaid  river  Delaware ;  and  so  down  the 
courses  of  the  river  to  the  first-mentioned  spruce 
tree."  The  Indians  thought  this  "walk"  might 
cover  the  land  as  far  north  as  the  Lehigh,  but  there 
was  deliberate  deception  practiced.  An  erroneous  map 
was  exhibited  indicating  a  line  extending  about  as  far 
north  as  Bethlehem  on  the  Lehigh,  and  this  deceived 
the  Indians.  The  white  officials  had  previously  been 
quietly  going  over  the  ground  far  north  of  the  Lehigh, 
blazing  routes  by  marking  trees,  all  of  which  was 
carefully  concealed,  and  Marshall  and  others  had  been 
employed  on  these  "  trial  walks."  A  reward  of  five 
hundred  acres  of  land  was  promised  the  walkers. 


218     AMERICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Marshall  and  two  others,  Jennings  and  Yeates, 
were  selected  to  do  the  walking,  all  young  and  ath- 
letic hunters,  experienced  in  woodcraft  and  inured  to 
hardships.  The  walk  was  fixed  for  September  19th, 
under  charge  of  the  Sheriff,  and  before  sunrise  of 
that  day  a  large  number  of  people  gathered  at  the 
starting-point  at  Wrightstown,  a  few  miles  west  of 
the  Delaware.  An  obelisk  on  a  pile  of  boulders  now 
marks  the  spot  at  the  corner  of  the  Quaker  Burying 
Ground,  bearing  an  inscription,  u  To  the  Memory  of 
the  Lenni  Lenape  Indians,  ancient  owners  of  this  re- 
gion, these  stones  are  placed  at  this  spot,  the  starting- 
point  of  the  '  Indian  walk/  September  19,  1737." 
The  start  was  made  from  a  chestnut  tree,  three  In- 
dians afoot  accompanying  the  three  walkers,  while 
the  Sheriff,  surveyors  and  others,  carrying  provisions, 
bedding  and  liquors,  were  on  horseback.  Just  as  the 
sun  rose  above  the  horizon  at  six  o'clock  they  started. 
When  they  had  gone  about  two  miles,  Jennings  gave 
out.  They  halted  fifteen  minutes  for  dinner  at  noon, 
soon  afterwards  crossed  the  Lehigh  near  the  site  of 
Bethlehem,  turned  up  that  river,  and  at  fifteen  minutes 
past  six  in  the  evening,  completing  the  day's  journey 
of  twelve  hours  actual  travel,  the  Sheriff,  watch  in 
hand,  called  to  them,  as  they  were  mounting  a  little 
hill,  to  "pull  up."  Marshall,  thus  notified,  clasped  his 
arms  about  a  sapling  for  support,  saying  "  he  was 
almost  gone,  and  if  he  had  proceeded  a  few  poles 
farther  he  must  have  fallen."     Yeates  seemed  less 


MARSHALL'S  WALK.  219 

distressed.  The  Indians  were  dissatisfied  from  the 
outset,  claiming  the  walk  should  have  been  made  up 
the  river,  and  not  inland.  When  .the  Lehigh  was 
crossed,  early  in  the  afternoon,  they  became  sullen, 
complaining  of  the  rapid  gait  of  the  walkers,  and  sev- 
eral times  protesting  against  their  running.  Before 
sunset  two  Indians  left,  saying  they  would  go  no 
farther,  that  the  walkers  would  pass  all  the  good 
land,  and  after  that  it  made  no  difference  how  far  or 
where  they  went.  The  third  Indian  continued  some 
distance,  when  he  lay  down  to  rest  and  could  go  no 
farther. 

The  halt  for  the  night  was  made  about  a  half-mile 
from  the  Indian  village  of  Hokendauqua,  a  name 
which  means  "  searching  for  land."  This  was  the 
village  of  Lappawinzoe,  one  of  the  sachems  who  had 
made  the  treaty.  The  next  morning  was  rainy,  and 
messengers  were  sent  him  to  request  a  detail  of  In- 
dians to  accompany  the  walkers.  He  was  in  ugly 
humor  and  declined,  but  some  Indians  strolled  into 
camp  and  took  liquor,  and  Yeates  also  drank  rather 
freely.  The  horses  were  hunted  up,  and  the  second 
day's  start  made  along  the  Lehigh  Valley  at  eight 
o'clock,  some  of  the  Indians  accompanying  for  a  short 
distance  through  the  rain,  but  soon  leaving,  dissatis- 
fied. The  route  was  north-northwest  through  the 
woods,  Marshall  carrying  a  compass,  by  which  he 
held  his  course.  In  crossing  a  creek  at  the  base  of 
the  mountains,  Yeates,  who  had  become  very  lama 


220     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

and  tired,  staggered  and  fell,  but  Marshall  pushed 
on,  followed  by  two  of  the  party  on  horseback.  At 
two  o'clock  the  "  walk "  ended  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Pocono  or  Broad  Mountain,  not  far  from  the 
^present  site  of  Mauch  Chunk.  The  distance  u  walked" 
in  eighteen  hours  was  about  sixty-eight  miles,  a 
remarkable  performance,  considering  the  condition 
of  the  country.  The  terminus  of  the  "walk" 
was  marked  by  placing  stones  in  the  forks  of  five 
trees,  and  the  surveyors  then  proceeded  to  com- 
plete the  work  by  marking  the  line  of  northern 
limit  of  the  tract  across  to  the  Delaware  River.  This 
was  done,  not  by  taking  the  shortest  route  to  the 
river,  but  by  running  a  line  at  right  angles  with  the 
general  direction  of  the  ie  walk  f  and  after  four  days' 
progress,  practically  parallel  to  the  Delaware,  through 
what  was  then  described  as  a  a  barren  mountainous 
region,"  the  surveyors  reached  the  river,  in  the  upper 
part  of  Pike  County,  near  the  mouth  of  Shohola 
Creek,  just  below  the  Lackawaxen. 

The  Indians  were  loud  in  their  complaints  of  the 
greediness  shown  in  this  walk,  and  particularly  of  the 
carrying  of  the  surveyors'  line  so  far  to  the  north- 
ward, which  none  of  them  had  anticipated.  Marshall 
was  told  by  one  old  Indian,  subsequently,  "  No  sit 
down  to  smoke — no  shoot  squirrel ;  but  lun,  lun,  lun, 
all  day  long."  Lappawinzoe,  thoroughly  disgusted, 
said,  "  Next  May  we  will  go  to  Philadelphia,  each 
one  with  a  buckskin,  repay  the  presents,  and  take 


MAKSHALL'S  WALK  221 

the  lands  back  again."  The  lands,  however,  were 
sold  to  speculators,  so  this  was  not  practicable,  and 
when  the  new  owners  sought  to  occupy  them,  the 
Indians  refused  to  vacate.  This  provoked  disputes 
over  a  half-million  acres,  a  vast  domain.  The  Penns, 
to  defend  their  position,  afterwards  repudiated  the 
surveyors,  and  they  never  fulfilled  their  promise  to 
give  Marshall  five  hundred  acres.  This  did  not 
mend  matters,  however,  and  the  Lenni  Lenape  In- 
dians' attitude  became  constantly  more  threatening, 
until  the  scared  Proprietary  invited  the  intervention 
of  their  hereditary  enemies,  the  Iroquois  Confedera- 
tion, or  Six  Nations.  In  1742  two  hundred  and 
thirty  leading  Iroquois  were  brought  to  Philadelphia, 
and  the  dispute  submitted  to  their  arbitration.  They 
sided  with  the  Proprietary,  and  the  Lenni  Lenapes 
reluctantly  withdrew  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  part 
going  as  far  west  as  Ohio.  But  they  thirsted  for  re- 
venge, and  when  the  French  began  attacking  the 
frontier  settlements,  these  Indians  became  willing 
allies,  making  many  raids  and  wreaking  terrible  ven- 
geance upon  the  innocent  frontiersmen  throughout 
Pennsylvania.  Marshall,  who  never  got  his  reward, 
removed  his  cabin  farther  up  the  Delaware,  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Lehigh.  The  Indians  always  pur- 
sued him,  as  an  arch- conspirator,  for  a  special  ven- 
geance. They  attacked  his  cabin,  killing  his  wife 
and  wounding  a  daughter,  he  escaping  by  being  ab- 
sent.    They  made  a  second  attack,  and  killed  a  son. 


222     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

His  whole  life  was  embittered  by  these  murders,  and 
he  lost  no  opportunity  for  retaliation,  removing,  for 
greater  safety,  to  an  island  in  the  river.  They  pur- 
sued him  for  forty  years,  a  party  of  Indians,  during 
the  Ke volution  in  1777,  coming  all  the  way  from 
Ohio  to  kill  him,  but  he  eluded  them  and  escaped. 
His  closing  years,  however,  were  passed  peacefully, 
and  he  died  at  the  age  of  ninety  at  his  island  home 
in  the  Delaware. 

THE  NARROWS  AND  THE  FORKS. 

The  Tohickon  Creek,  the  chief  stream  of  Bucks 
County,  flows  into  the  Delaware  at  Point  Pleasant, 
its  Indian  name  of  Tohick-hanne  meaning  "the 
stream  crossed  by  a  drift-wood  bridge."  Here  in 
the  river  are  many  rapids  or  "  rifts,"  some  having 
been  given  curious  names  by  the  early  raftsmen  who 
used  to  "  shoot "  them — such  as  the  "  Buck  Tail 
rift,"  the  "Cut  Bite  rift,"  the  "Man-of-War  rift," 
the  "  Ground  Hog  rift,"  and  the  "  Old  Sow  rift." 
The  river  makes  many  sweeping  curves  in  passing 
through  the  gorges,  and  it  displays  the  Nockamixon 
Rocks  or  "  Pennsylvania  Palisades,"  a  series  of  about 
three  miles  of  beetling  crags,  of  rich  red  and  brown 
sandstone,  rising  four  hundred  feet,  almost  perpen- 
dicularly, and  making  a  grand  gorge  known  as  the 
Narrows.  The  ridge  which  the  river  thus  bisects  is 
known  as  Rock  Hill  in  Pennsylvania,  and  across  in 
New  Jersey  stretches  away  to  the  northeast  as  the 


THE  NARROWS  AND  THE  FORKS.  223 

Musconetcong  Mountain.  Above,  the  Musconetcong 
River,  the  Indian  "  rapid  runner,"  flows  in  at  Rei- 
gelsville,  a  town  on  both  sides  of  the  Delaware. 
This  was  the  Indian  village  of  Peehequeolin  in  the 
early  eighteenth  century,  where  iron  works,  the  first 
on  the  Delaware,  were  started  in  1727,  famous  for 
making  the  "Franklin"  and  "Adam  and  Eve" 
stoves  that  were  so  popular  among  our  ancestors,  the 
latter  bearing  in  bold  relief  a  striking  representation 
of  our  first  parents  in  close  consultation  with  the 
serpent.  Just  above,  the  Delaware  comes  out 
through  the  massive  gorge  of  the  Durham  Hills  or 
South  Mountain,  north  of  which  the  Lehigh  River 
flows  in  from  the  southwest  amid  iron  mills  and  slag 
heaps,  with  numerous  bridges  bringing  the  various 
Lehigh  coal  railways  across  from  Easton  to  Phillips- 
burg.  This  is  the  confluence  with  the  Lehigh, 
known  in  early  times  as  the  "  Forks  of  the  Dela- 
ware." To  this  place  the  Lenni  Lenapes  often  came 
to  treat  and  trade  with  the  Penns,  and  a  town  was 
founded  there  when  John  Penn  was  the  Proprietor. 
He  was  then  a  newly-married  man,  and  had  courted 
his  bride,  a  daughter  of  Lord  Pomfret,  at  her  father's 
English  country-house  of  Easton  in  Northamptonshire. 
So  the  new  town  was  called  Easton  and  the  county 
Northampton,  at  the  junction  of  the  Delaware  with 
the  Indian  Lechwiechink,  signifying  "where  there 
are  forks."  This  name  was  shortened  to  Lecha,  and 
afterwards  became  the  Lehigh.     The  two  towns  lit- 


224     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

erally  hang  upon  the  hillsides,  Mount  Parnassus 
looking  down  upon  Phillipsburg,  named  after  the  old 
chief  Phillip,  who  had  the  original  village  there, 
while  Easton  is  compressed  between  the  South  Moun- 
tain and  the  long  ridge  of  Chestnut  Hill,  rising  seven 
hundred  feet,  where  the  Paxinosa  Inn  recalls  the 
sturdy  Paxanose,  the  last  of  the  Shawnee  kings  who 
lived  east  of  the  Alleghenies.  Through  these  towns 
and  across  the  bridges  spanning  the  Delaware  roll 
constant  processions  of  coal  trains  bringing  the  an- 
thracite out  from  the  Lehigh  and  Wyoming  coal- 
fields to  market. 

Easton  dates  from  1737  and  has  about  fifteen 
thousand  people,  but  its  growth  did  not  come  until 
the  coal  trade  was  developed.  The  Lehigh  Canal 
started  this,  and  upon  it  Asa  Packer  was  a  boat- 
man before  the  railway  era,  and  carried  goods  for 
the  industrious  Frenchman,  Ario  Pardee,  who  then 
had  a  mill  and  store  at  Hazleton,  back  in  the  inte- 
rior. These  were  the  two  leaders  in  developing  the 
Lehigh  coal  trade.  The  chief  institution  of  Easton 
is  Lafayette  College,  a  Presbyterian  foundation,  its 
main  building  being  Pardee  Hall,  a  gift  of  Ario 
Pardee.  It  is  largely  a  school  of  the  mine,  and  is 
devoted  to  that  branch  of  scientific  research.  Here 
often  came  the  famous  Teedyuscung,  the  eloquent 
sachem  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes,  who,  in  the  councils 
at  the  "  Forks,"  pleaded  for  his  people's  rights.  The 
last  remnant  of  his  tribe,  having  been  pressed  far- 


THE  NAEEOWS  AND  THE  FOKK&     225 

ther  and  farther  towards  the  setting  sun,  now  live  as 
the  "Delaware  Indians"  out  in  Oklahoma,  there 
being  barely  ninety  of  them,  where  Hon.  Charles 
Journeycake,  at  last  advices,  was  the  "  King  of  the 
Delawares,"  the  successor  of  Teedyuscung  and  of 
St.  Tammany.  Phillipsburg  was  originally  settled  by 
Dutch,  and  its  prosperity  was  based  chiefly  on  the 
Morris  Canal,  which  crossed  New  Jersey  through 
Newark  to  New  York  harbor,  a  work  since  aban- 
doned for  transportation  purposes.  It  was  a  wonder- 
ful canal  in  its  day,  crossing  mountain  ranges  of  nine 
hundred  feet.  This  was  made  possible  by  the  high 
elevation  of  Lake  Hopatcong,  which  furnished  most 
of  the  water  for  the  levels.  While  some  of  the  ele- 
vations were  overcome  by  locks,  the  greater  ones 
were  mounted  by  inclined  planes  up  which  the  boats 
were  drawn,  the  machinery  of  the  planes  being 
worked  by  water-power  taken  from  the  higher  canal 
levels.  Its  chief  usefulness  now  is  the  supply  of 
water  to  Newark,  the  descent  from  Lake  Hopatcong  on 
that  side  being  nine  hundred  and  fourteen  feet.  This 
beautiful  lake,  supplied  with  the  purest  spring  water, 
is  nine  miles  long  and  about  four  miles  wide,  dotted 
with  islands,  its  rock-bound  shores  encompassed  by 
surrounding  mountains  giving  charming  scenery. 
Small  steamboats  navigate  it,  and  the  name  Hopatcong 
means  "  Stone  over  the  Water,"  referring  to  an  arti- 
ficial causeway  of  stone  the  Indians  had,  connecting 
with  one  of  the  islands,  but  which  is  now  submerged. 


226     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


BETHLEHEM   AND   THE   MORAVIANS. 

The  Lehigh  River  flows  out  of  the  Alleghenies 
through  a  deep  and  tortuous  valley  which  rends  the 
mountain  ridges  until  it  strikes  against  the  South 
Mountain  range,  here  called  the  Durham  Hills,  and 
then  turns  northeast  along  its  base  to  the  Delaware. 
At  this  bend  the  Saucon  Creek  comes  in  from  the 
south  and  the  Monocacy  Creek  from  the  north,  and 
here,  twelve  miles  from  Easton,  is  Bethlehem.  This 
manufacturing  town  of  twenty  thousand  population 
is  one  of  the  noted  places  of  the  Lehigh  Valley.  A 
large  part  of  the  lowlands  along  the  river  are  occu- 
pied by  the  extensive  works  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
Company,  where  the  big  guns,  armor  and  crank- 
shafts are  made  for  the  navy,  while  on  the  slopes  of 
the  South  Mountain  are  the  noble  buildings  of  the 
Lehigh  University,  the  munificent  benefaction  of 
Asa  Packer,  supporting  four  hundred  students  of  the 
technical  studies  developing  mining  and  railways. 
On  the  hill  slopes  of  the  northern  river  bank  is  the 
original  Moravian  town,  oddly  built  of  bricks  and 
stone,  with  a  steep  slate  roof  on  nearly  every  house. 
It  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  the  most  important  of 
the  settlements  in  America  of  the  refugee  followers 
of  John  Huss,  the  "  Congregation  of  the  United 
Brethren,"  and  for  a  century  was  under  its  absolute 
government.  In  the  winter  of  1740  the  first  trees 
were  cut  down  that  formed  the  log  hut  which  was  the 


BETHLEHEM  AND  THE  MOEAVIANS.         227 

first  house  on  this  part  of  the  Lehigh.  Count  Zin- 
zendorf,  their  leader,  arrived  from  Moravia,  with  his 
young  daughter  Benigna,  before  the  second  house 
was  built,  and  celebrated  with  the  settlers  the  Christ- 
mas Eve  of  1741.  They  had  called  the  place  Beth- 
Lechem,  "the  house  upon  the  Lehigh,"  but  it  is 
related  that  towards  midnight  on  this  occasion  Zin- 
zendorf,  becoming  deeply  moved,  seized  a  blazing 
torch  and  earnestly  sang  a  German  hymn : 

"Not  Jerusalem — lowly  Bethlehem 
'Twas  that  gave  us  Christ  to  save  us." 

Thus  the  young  settlement  got  its  name.  Receiv- 
ing large  accessions  by  immigration,  it  soon  grew 
into  activity,  and  outstripping  Easton,  became  the 
commercial  depot  of  the  Upper  Delaware  and  the 
Lehigh,  sending  missionaries  among  the  Indians,  and 
during  the  Revolution  was  a  busy  manufacturing 
town.  For  the  first  thirty  years  it  was  a  pure  "  com- 
mune," the  church  elders  regulating  the  labor  of  all 
the  people,  and  afterwards,  until  1844,  the  church 
council  of  the  u  Congregation  "  ruled  everything,  this 
exclusive  system  being  then  abandoned.  Proceeding 
up  a  winding  highway  from  the  river,  the  old  "  Mo- 
ravian Sun  Inn  n  is  passed,  the  building,  dating  from 
1758,  being  modernized ;  and  mounting  the  higher 
hill  above  the  Main  Street,  the  visitor  soon  gets  into 
the  heart  of  the  original  Moravian  Colony,  among  the 
ancient  and  spacious  hip-roofed,  slate-covered  stone 


228     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

houses,  with  their  ponderous  gables.  Though  dwelling 
in  communism,  the  Moravians  strictly  separated  the 
sexes  in  house,  street,  church  and  graveyard,  taking 
good  care  of  the  lone  females,  whether  maidens  or 
widows.  Here  are  the  "  Widows'  House  "  and  the 
"Single  Sisters'  House,"  quaintly  attractive  with 
their  broad  oaken  stairways,  diminutive  windows, 
stout  furniture  and  sun-dials,  tiled  and  flagged  pave- 
ments, low  ceilings,  steep  roofs  and  odd  gables.  The 
"  Sisters'  House  "  was  built  in  1742.  The  "  Congre- 
gation House  "  and  "  Theological  Seminary  "  are  also 
here  j  and,  best  known  of  all,  the  Moravian  u  Young 
Ladies'  Seminary,"  an  extensive  and  widely  cele- 
brated institution,  dating  from  1749,  whose  educa- 
tional methods  are  those  founded  by  the  noted  John 
Amos  Commenius,  who  flourished  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  whose  life-size  portrait  bust  is  sacredly 
preserved  in  the  school,  as  is  also  the  old  sun-dial 
of  1748  on  the  southern  front  of  one  of  the  buildings. 
The  Moravian  Church,  a  large  square  building, 
fronts  the  Main  Street,  and  here  are  held  the  great 
festivals  at  Christmas  and  Easter  which  bring  many 
visitors  to  Bethlehem.  Its  most  interesting  adjunct  is 
the  "  Dead  House  "  alongside,  a  small  pointed  gothic 
steep-roofed  building,  which  is  used  whenever  a  mem- 
ber dies.  The  public  announcement  of  the  death  is 
made  at  sunrise  from  the  church  cupola  by  the  "trom- 
bone choir,"  who  go  up  there  and  vigorously  blow 
their  horns,  one   standing  facing   each  of  the  four 


BETHLEHEM  AND  THE  MOKAVIANS.         229 

points  of  the  compass.  The  funeral  services  are  held 
in  the  church,  but  the  corpse  is  not  taken  there,  it 
being  deposited  in  the  "Dead  House,"  and  guarded  by 
the  pall-bearers  during  the  ceremony.  This  ended, 
a  procession  solemnly  marches  farther  up  the  hill, 
led  by  the  trombones,  playing  a  dirge,  escorting  the 
corpse  and  mourners  to  the  ancient  graveyard.  Here 
are  the  graves  of  the  faithful,  resting  beneath  grand 
old  trees,  all  the  men  on  one  side  of  the  central  path 
and  the  women  on  the  other.  There  are  no  monu- 
ments or  family  lots,  but  the  graves  stretch  across 
the  cemetery  in  long  rows,  each  row  being  completed 
before  another  is  begun,  the  latest  corpse,  without 
reference  to  relationship,  being  laid  alongside  the 
last  interred,  so  that  the  row  of  graves  shows  the 
chronological  succession  of  the  deaths.  All  are 
treated  alike,  the  dead  bishop  resting  alongside  the 
humblest  of  the  flock,  a  small  square  stone  being  laid 
upon  each  flattened  grave,  marked  with  name  and 
date  of  birth  and  death,  and  usually  a  number.  Only 
one  person — a  woman — has  any  sign  of  distinction 
above  the  others  in  this  unique  cemetery.  She  was 
Deaconess  Juliana  Nitschman,  wife  of  Bishop  John 
Nitschman,  who  died  in  1751,  greatly  beloved  by 
the  Congregation,  and  was  honored  by  being  given 
a  special  grave  in  the  path  in  the  centre  of  the 
yard,  between  the  men  and  the  women.  There 
are  some  fifty  graves  of  Indian  converts  in  the  early 
days,  among    them   "Tschoop   of  the    Mohicans/' 


230     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

whom  Cooper,  the  novelist,  has  immortalized,  the 
brave  and  eloquent  father  of  his  hero  Uncas.  The 
record  of  the  conversion  of  the  famous  King  Tee- 
dyuscung  is  kept  in  the  Moravian  Congregation, 
and  his  exploits  are  frequently  described  in  their 
annals.  He  lived  on  the  meadow  land  down  by 
the  river,  having  gone  there  in  1730  from  near 
Trenton,  where  he  was  born  about  1700,  and  in  1742 
he  released  the  lands  at  Bethlehem  to  the  Moravians. 
He  was  impressed  by  the  persuasions  of  the  preachers, 
and  after  along  probation,  in  1750  was  baptized  under 
the  name  of  Gideon.  Bishop  CammerhofF,  on  March 
12th,  made  an  entry  which,  translated,  reads,  "  To-day 
I  baptized  Tatius  Kundt,  the  chief  among  sinners." 
He  was  made  Grand  Sachem  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes 
in  1754,  but  he  backslid  from  the  Church,  and  joined 
in  the  pillage  and  massacre  of  the  Colonial  wars.  He 
became  dissipated,  but  was  afterwards  reconciled  to 
the  whites  and  removed  to  Wyoming,  where  the  Iro- 
quois in  1763  made  a  raid,  and  finding  him  in  a 
drunken  stupor  in  his  wigwam,  they  set  fire  to  it  and 
he  was  burnt  to  death. 

During  the  Revolution  the  Moravians  were  of 
great  use  to  the  army,  conducting  hospitals  at  Bethle- 
hem and  providing  supplies.  In  1778  the  "  Single 
Sisters  n  made  and  presented  to  Count  Pulaski  a  finely 
embroidered  silk  banner,  afterwards  carried  by  his 
regiment,  and  preserved  by  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society.     Longfellow  has  beautifully  enshrined  this 


MAUCH  CHUNK  AND  COAL  MINING.         231 

memory  in  his  "  Hymn  of  the  Moravian  Nuns  "  at  its 
consecration : 

"When  the  dying  flame  of  day 
Through  the  chancel  shot  its  ray, 
Far  the  glimmering  tapers  shed 
Faint  light  on  the  cowled  head, 
And  the  censer  burning  swung 
Where  before  the  altar  hung 
That  proud  banner,  which,  with  prayer, 
Had  been  consecrated  there  ; 
And  the  nuns'  sweet  hymn  was  heard  the  while 
Sung  low  in  the  dim  mysterious  aisle — 

"  *  Take  thy  banner.     May  it  wave 
Proudly  o'er  the  good  and  brave, 
When  the  battle's  distant  wail 
Breaks  the  Sabbath  of  our  vale  ; 
When  the  clarion's  music  thrills 
To  the  heart  of  these  lone  hills  ; 
When  the  spear  in  conflict  shakes, 
And  the  strong  lance,  quivering,  breaks.'  " 

MAUCH  CHUNK  AND   COAL   MINING. 

The  Lehigh  above  Bethlehem  comes  through  the 
clear-cut  "  Lehigh  Gap  "  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  which 
stretches  off  to  the  northeast,  where  are  two  other 
notches,  one  cut  partly  down  and  the  other  deeply 
cut— the  first  being  the  u  Wind  Gap  "  and  the  other 
the  "  Delaware  Water  Gap."  The  Indians  used  to 
tell  the  early  pioneers  that  the  wind  came  through 
the  one  and  the  water  through  the  other.  The  Jor- 
dan Creek  flows  out  from  the  South  Mountain,  and  in 
the  valley  is  Allentown,  the  chief  city  of  the  Lehigh, 


232     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

having  thirty  thousand  people,  and  numerous  facto- 
ries and  breweries.  Here  is  the  township  of  Macun- 
gie,  which  is  Indian  for  "the  feeding-place  of  bears." 
It  was  to  Allentown,  when  the  British  captured  Phila- 
delphia, that  in  1777  were  hastily  taken  the  Liberty 
Bell  and  the  chimes  of  Christ  Church  and  St.  Peter's 
Church,  being  concealed  beneath  the  floor  of  old  Zion 
Church  to  prevent  their  capture  and  confiscation. 
Above  Allentown  the  Lehigh  traverses  the  valley  be- 
tween the  South  Mountain  and  the  Blue  Ridge,  pass- 
ing Catasauqua,  "the  thirsty  land,"  and  Hokendauqua, 
seats  of  extensive  iron  manufacture,  the  first  of  these 
establishments  on  the  Lehigh,  founded  in  1839  by 
David  Thomas,  who  came  out  from  Wales  for  the 
purpose.  Then  we  get  among  the  slate  factories  in 
crossing  the  vast  slate  measures  that  adjoin  the  Blue 
Ridge,  and  go  quickly  through  the  deep  notch  in  the 
tall  and  here  very  narrow  ridge,  the  waters  foaming 
over  the  slaty  bed,  its  thin  layers  standing  up  in  long 
straight  lines  across  the  stream.  Beyond  is  another 
valley,  and  then  comes  the  wide-topped  range  known 
as  the  Broad  Mountain.  In  this  valley  was  Grauden- 
hutten,  where  the  Indian  trail,  known  as  the  "War- 
rior's Path,"  crossed  the  Lehigh,  and  where  the  first 
Moravian  missionaries  from  Bethlehem  came  and 
built  a  church  and  converted  the  Indians.  It  was  the 
scene  of  one  of  the  terrible  massacres  of  the  Colonial 
wars.  Within  the  gorge  of  the  Broad  Mountain  is 
the  oddest  town  on  the  Lehigh,  Mauch  Chunk. 


MAUCH  CHUNK  AND  COAL  MINING.         233 

This  noted  coal  town  has  two  principal  streets—* 
one  laid  along  the  front  of  a  mountain  wall  above  the 
river  bank,  and  the  other  at  right  angles,  stretching 
back  through  a  cleft  in  the  mountain.  Most  things 
are  set  on  edge  in  Mauch  Chunk,  and  the  man  who 
may  have  the  front  door  of  his  house  on  the  street 
often  goes  out  of  an  upper  story  into  the  back  yard, 
which  slopes  steeply  upward.  Mount  Pisgah  rises 
high  above,  crowned  with  the  chimneys  of  the  ma- 
chine-house of  an  inclined-plane  railway.  A  view 
from  it  discloses  a  novel  landscape  beneath,  the  rail- 
roads, canal,  river  and  front  street  all  being  com- 
pressed together  into  the  narrow  curving  gorge  which 
bends  around  Bear  Mountain,  the  '*  Mauch  Chunk n 
over  opposite.  The  red  sandstone  is  universal,  and 
the  chocolate-colored  roads  leading  out  of  town  are 
carved  into  the  mountain  walls.  Through  the  centre 
of  the  place  the  river  pours  over  a  canal  dam,  its 
roaring  mingled  with  the  noise  of  constantly  moving 
coal  trains.  The  curious  conical  Bear  Mountain, 
around  which  everything  curves,  rises  seven  hundred 
feet  high,  and  the  town,  which  has  about  four  thou* 
sand  people,  rests  at  various  elevations,  wherever 
houses  can  get  room  to  stand — in  gullies  or  gorges, 
or  hanging  on  the  hillsides.  From  every  point  of 
view  rises  the  tall  and  quaintly  turreted  tower  of 
St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church,  looking  like  an  ancient 
feudal  castle  of  the  Rhine,  which  was  built  as  a  me- 
morial of  Asa  Packer  by  his  widow  j  for  here  was 


834     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

his  home,  and  his  grave  is  in  the  cemetery  almost 
over  the  roof  of  his  house. 

At  Summit  Hill,  nine  miles  northwest  of  Mauch 
Chunk,  the  anthracite  coal  of  this  region  was  first 
discovered.  Philip  Ginter,  a  hunter,  found  it  while 
roaming  over  Sharp  Mountain  in  1791.  This  "  stone 
coal "  was  carried  down  to  Philadelphia  and  exhibited, 
and  a  company  was  formed,  taking  up  ten  thousand 
acres  on  the  mountain  and  opening  a  mine.  For 
thirty  years  they  had  disappointments,  as  nobody 
would  use  the  coal,  which  cost  about  $14  per  ton  to 
transport  to  Philadelphia.  To  cheapen  this,  efforts 
were  made  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Lehigh, 
out  of  which  grew  the  canal  which  was  the  early 
route  of  the  coal  to  that  city.  Asa  Packer  once  said 
that  in  1820  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  tons  went 
to  Philadelphia,  and  this  choked  the  market.  In 
1827,  when  the  mining  at  Summit  Hill  had  got  a 
good  start,  the  "  Switchback "  gravity  railroad  was 
built  to  bring  the  coal  out  from  the  mines  to  the  river 
at  Mauch  Chunk.  The  loaded  coal  cars  ran  by  their 
own  momentum  nine  miles  down  a  grade  of  about 
ninety  feet  to  the  mile.  To  get  the  cars  back,  they 
were  hauled  up  the  inclined  plane  on  Mount  Pisgah, 
then  run  by  gravity  six  miles  inland  to  Mount  Jeffer- 
son, where  they  were  hauled  up  a  second  plane,  and 
then  they  ran  three  miles  iarther  by  gravity  to  the 
mines.  This  route  was  used  for  many  years,  but  was 
afterwards  superseded  by  another  railway,  and  now 


MAUCH  CHUNK  AND  COAL  MINING.         235 

the  famous  "  Switchback  *  is  a  summer  excursion 
route  for  tourists  who  delight  in  the  exhilarating 
rides  down  the  gravity  slopes.  At  Summit  Hill  and 
in  the  Panther  Creek  Valley,  a  large  output  of  coal  is 
mined  and  sent  through  a  railway  tunnel  to  the 
Lehigh,  and  there  is  at  Summit  Hill  a  burning  mine 
which  has  been  smouldering  more  than  a  half-cen- 
tury. Asa  Packer  developed  this  region,  while,  far- 
ther up  the  river,  branch  lines  come  in  from  the  Ma- 
hanoy  and  Hazleton  regions,  which  were  the  field  of 
operations  of  Ario  Pardee ;  and  the  two  went  hand 
in  hand  in  fostering  the  prosperity  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley. 

The  upper  waters  of  the  Lehigh  flow  through  a 
wild  canyon,  the  river  at  times  almost  doubling  upon 
itself  as  it  makes  sharp  bends  around  the  bold  prom- 
ontories. Enormous  hills  encompass  it  about,  the 
stream  often  flowing  through  the  bottom  with  the 
rush  and  foam  of  a  miniature  Niagara  rapids.  The 
canal,  abandoned  above  Mauch  Chunk,  was  destroyed 
by  a  freshet  many  years  ago,  but  the  amber-colored 
waters  still  pour  over  the  dilapidated  dams  and 
through  the  moss-grown  sluices.  There  are  log 
houses  for  the  lumbermen,  also  an  almost  obsolete 
industry,  and  finally  the  railways  abandon  the  di- 
minutive Lehigh  and  climb  over  the  desolate  Nesco- 
pec  Mountain,  to  go  through  the  Sugar  Notch  and 
down  the  other  side  into  the  Vale  of  Wyoming  and 
to  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna.  Upon  the  eastern 
Vol.  l— n 


236     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

slopes  of  the  Nescopec  the  Lehigh  has  its  sources, 
gathering  the  tribute  of  many  small  streams  between 
this  ridge  and  Broad  Mountain. 

THE   VALE   OF  WYOMING. 

The  railroads  cross  the  height  of  land  between  the 
sources  of  the  Lehigh  and  the  affluents  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, through  the  Sugar  Notch,  at  about  eigh- 
teen hundred  feet  elevation.  When  the  train  moves 
out  to  the  western  verge  of  Nescopec  Mountain 
there  suddenly  bursts  upon  the  gladdened  sight  the 
finest  scenic  view  in  Pennsylvania — over  the  fair 
Vale  of  Wyoming,  with  all  its  gorgeous  beauties  of 
towns  and  villages,  forests  and  farms,  under  the 
bright  sunlight,  and  having  laid  across  it  the  distant 
silver  streak  of  the  glinting  Susquehanna  River,  all 
spread  out  in  a  magnificent  picture  seen  from  an  ele- 
vation of  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  river  level. 
For  nearly  twenty  miles  the  Susquehanna  can  be 
traced  through  the  long,  trough-like  valley,  from 
where  it  breaks  in  through  the  Lackawannock  Gap 
in  the  North  Mountain,  under  Campbell's  Ledge,  far 
to  the  northward,  away  down  south  to  where  it  passes 
out  the  narrow  gorge  at  Nanticoke  Gap.  The  long 
ridges  of  the  Nescopec  and  Moosic  Mountains  enclose 
the  valley  on  one  side,  and  over  on  the  other  are  the 
great  North  Mountain  or  Shawnee  range,  and  the 
higher  ridge  of  the  main  Allegheny  range  behind. 
In  the  distant  northeast  the  view  is  prolonged  up  the 


THE  VALE  OF  WYOMING.  237 

Lackawanna  Valley.  In  this  splendid  Wyoming 
Vale,  spread  out  like  a  map,  is  a  landscape  of  rich 
agriculture,  dotted  over  with  towns  and  villages,  coal- 
breakers  and  huge  culnbrpiles,  the  long  snake-like 
streaks  of  railways  crossing  the  scene  bearing  their 
little  puffing  engines.  It  looks  much  like  what  one 
sees  out  of  a  balloon.  Here  is  the  village  of  Nanti- 
coke,  then  Plymouth,  then  the  spreading  city  of 
Wilkesbarre,  and,  far  beyond,  the  foliage-hidden 
houses  of  Pittston,  near  the  gorge  where  the  river 
flows  in.  Between  them  all  are  clusters  of  villages 
and  black  coal  heaps,  with  myriads  of  the  little  green 
and  brown  fields,  making  distant  farms.  The  river 
reaches  sparkle  in  the  light  as  the  long  shadows  are 
cast  from  the  mountains,  and  the  train  runs  rapidly 
down  the  mountain  side  and  across  the  valley  to  its 
chief  city,  Wilkesbarre. 

When  the  broad  and  shallow  and  rock-strewn 
river  Susquehanna,  on  its  way  down  from  Otsego 
Lake  in  New  York  to  the  Chesapeake,  breaks  through 
the  North  Mountain,  its  valley  expands  to  three  or 
four  miles  in  width,  making  a  fertile  region  between 
the  high  enclosing  ridges  which  the  Indians  called 
Maughwauwama,  or  the  "extensive  flat  plains." 
This  sonorous  name  underwent  many  changes,  finally 
becoming  known  as  Wyoming.  Luzerne  County  is 
the  lower  and  Lackawanna  County  the  upper  portion 
of  this  noted  valley,  which  is  the  greatest  anthracite 
coal-field  in  the  world.     These  Wyoming  coal  meas- 


238     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

tires  underlie  seventy-seven  square  miles,  having 
veins  averaging  eighty  feet  in  thickness,  and  about 
eighty  thousand  tons  to  the  acre,  the  aggregate  de- 
posit of  coal  being  estimated  to  exceed  two  thousand 
millions  of  tons.  The  large  population  and  enor- 
mous production  have  caused  all  the  railways  to  send 
in  branches  to  tap  its  lucrative  traffic,  so  that  it  is  the 
best-served  region  in  Pennsylvania.  It  has  two 
large  cities — Wilkesbarre,  in  Luzerne,  and  Scranton, 
in  Lackawanna.  Wilkesbarre  is  on  the  eastern  Sus- 
quehanna river  bank,  a  town  of  forty  thousand 
people,  named  after  the  two  English  champions  of 
American  Colonial  rights.  It  covers  much  surface 
in  the  centre  of  the  valley,  with  suburbs  spreading 
far  up  the  mountain  sides.  But  from  almost  every 
point  of  view  in  the  city  the  outlook  is  over  black 
culm-heaps  or  coal-breakers  or  at  rows  of  coal  cars, 
so  that  there  is  a  monotony  in  the  steady  reminder 
of  the  source  of  their  riches,  the  omnipresent  anthra- 
cite. About  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Wilkesbarre, 
up  in  the  North  Mountain  range,  is  the  largest  lake 
in  Pennsylvania — Harvey's  Lake — elevated  nearly 
thirteen  hundred  feet  and  covering  about  two  square 
miles.  It  is  named  after  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
from  Connecticut,  and  its  outflow  comes  down  to  the 
Susquehanna  near  Nanticoke  Gap.  Its  pleasant 
shores  are  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Wilkesbarre  people. 
The  flourishing  city  of  Scranton  is  about  nineteen 
miles  north  of  Wilkesbarre,  in  the  Lackawanna  Val- 


THE  VALE  OF  WYOMING.  289 

ley.  It  has  grown  to  a  population  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand people,  and  is  picturesquely  situated  among  the 
coal  mines,  with  a  higher  elevation  than  Wilkesbarre, 
being  nearly  eleven  hundred  feet  above  tide,  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Roaring  Brook  with  the  Lacka- 
wanna River ;  and  it  has  extensive  iron  industries, 
being  the  chief  city  of  northeastern  Pennsylvania. 
The  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  coal  pits,  while  the 
greatest  anthracite  producers,  are  not  generally  so 
deep  as  those  of  the  Lehigh  or  Schuylkill  regions. 
The  deepest  Pennsylvania  shaft  goes  down  seventeen 
hundred  feet  near  Pottsville.  Some  of  the  Wyoming 
galleries  run  a  mile  and  a  half  underground  from  the 
shaft,  following  the  coal  veins  underneath  and  far 
beyond  the  Susquehanna. 

This  noted  Wyoming  Vale,  in  the  early  history 
of  the  Pennsylvania  frontier,  was  bought  from 
the  Iroquois  Indians,  the  "Six  Nations,"  by  an 
association  of  pioneer  settlers  from  Connecticut. 
Good  management,  due  largely  to  the  judicious 
methods  of  the  early  missionaries,  kept  them  at 
peace  with  the  Indians.  Count  Zinzendorf,  with  a 
companion,  came  up  from  Bethlehem  in  1742,  before 
the  Connecticut  purchase,  and  founded  a  Moravian 
mission  among  the  Shawnees  in  the  valley.  It  is 
said  that  they  were  suspicious  of  European  rapacity 
and  plotted  his  assassination,  and  the  historian  re- 
lates that  the  Count  was  alone  in  his  tent,  reclining 
upon  a  bundle  of  dry  weeds,  destined  for  his  bed,  and 


240     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

engaged  in  writing  or  in  devout  meditation,  when  the 
assassins  crept  stealthily  up.  A  blanket-curtain 
formed  the  door,  and,  gently  raising  the  corner,  the 
Indians  had  a  full  view  of  the  patriarch,  with  the 
calmness  of  a  saint  upon  his  benignant  features.  They 
were  struck  with  awe.  But  this  was  not  all.  The 
night  was  cool,  and  he  had  kindled  a  small  fire.  The 
historian  continues :  "  Warmed  by  the  flame,  a 
large  rattlesnake  had  crept  from  its  covert,  and,  ap- 
proaching the  fire  for  its  greater  enjoyment,  glided 
harmlessly  over  one  of  the  legs  of  the  holy  man, 
whose  thoughts  at  the  moment  were  not  occupied 
upon  the  grovelling  things  of  earth.  He  perceived 
not  the  serpent,  but  the  Indians,  with  breathless  at- 
tention, had  observed  the  whole  movement  of  the 
poisonous  reptile ;  and  as  they  gazed  upon  the  aspect 
and  attitude  of  the  Count,  their  enmity  was  imme- 
diately changed  to  reverence  j  and  in  the  belief  that 
their  intended  victim  enjoyed  the  special  protection 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  they  desisted  from  their  bloody 
purpose  and  retired.  Thenceforward  the  Count  was 
regarded  by  the  Indians  with  the  most  profound  ven- 
eration." 

When  the  Revolution  came,  the  settlement  was  a 
thriving  agricultural  colony  of  about  two  thousand 
people,  scattered  over  the  valley,  with  a  village  on 
the  river  shore  just  above  the  present  site  of  Wilkes- 
barre.  In  June,  1778,  a  force  of  British  troops, 
Tories  and  Indiana  entered  the  valley  and  attacked 


THE  VALE  OF  WYOMING.  241 

them,  and  on  July  3d  the  terrible  Wyoming  massacre 
followed,  in  which  the  British  officers  were  unable  to 
set  any  bounds  to  the  atrocious  butchery  by  their 
savage  allies,  who  killed  about  three  hundred  men, 
women  and  children.  The  poet  Campbell  has  painted 
the  previous  pastoral  scene  of  happiness  and  content  in 
u  Gertrude  of  Wyoming,"  and  told  the  tale  of  atrocity 
perpetrated  by  the  savages,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
horrible  tragedies  of  that  great  war.    This  poem  tells 

of 

"A  stoic  of  the  woods — a  man  without  a  tear." 

Beside  the  river  below  Pittston  and  near  the  vil- 
lage of  Wyoming,  having  the  great  North  Mountain 
for  a  background,  was  Fort  Forty,  the  scene  of  the 
chief  atrocities  of  the  massacre,  the  site  being  now 
marked  by  a  granite  obelisk.  Here  is  the  burial- 
place  of  the  remains  of  the  slaughtered.  "Queen 
Esther's  Rock  "  is  pointed  out,  where  the  half-breed 
Queen  of  the  Senecas,  to  avenge  the  death  of  her 
son,  is  said  to  have  herself  tomahawked  fourteen  de- 
fenceless prisoners.  Most  of  the  survivors  fled  after 
this  horror,  and  they  did  not  return  to  the  valley 
until  long  after  peace  was  restored,  when  the  infant 
settlement  was  renewed  in  the  founding  of  Wilkes- 
barre.  Far  up  on  the  side  of  the  grand  peak  guard- 
ing the  northern  portal  of  the  Lackawannock  Gap  is 
the  broad  shelf  of  rock  which  embalms  in  "  Camp- 
bell's Ledge  n  the  memory  of  the  great  English  poet 
who  has  so  graphically  told  the  harrowing  tale. 


242     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE  TERMINAL   MORAINE. 

The  Delaware  River  above  the  "  Forks,"  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Lehigh,  breaks  through  a  narrow  notch 
in  the  Chestnut  Hill  ridge  known  as  the  "Little 
Water  Gap,"  while  farther  to  the  northeast  the  ridge 
continues  through  New  Jersey  as  the  Jenny  Jump 
Mountain.  Above  this  is  the  noted  "Foul  Rift," 
where  the  river  channel  is  filled  with  boulders  and 
rocks  of  all  sizes  and  shapes,  the  dread  of  the  rafts- 
men who  gave  it  the  name,  for  many  a  raft  has  been 
wrecked  there.  But  while  this  place  is  shunned  by 
the  navigator,  it  has  an  absorbing  attraction  for  the 
geologist.  This  was  where  the  great  "Terminal 
Moraine  "  of  the  glacial  epoch  crossed  the  Delaware, 
recalling  the  "Ice  Age,"  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made.  When  the  vast  Greenland  ice- 
cap crept  down  so  as  to  overspread  northeastern 
America  and  northwestern  Europe  and  filled  the  in- 
tervening Atlantic  bed,  it  broke  off  many  rocky  frag- 
ments in  its  southward  advance,  scratching  the  sur- 
faces of  the  ledges,  and  the  fragments  held  in  its 
grip,  with  striated  lines  and  grooves  in  the  direction 
of  its  movement.  The  ice  steadily  flowed  southward, 
coming  over  mountain  and  valley  alike  in  a  continu- 
ous sheet,  enveloping  the  ocean  and  adjacent  con- 
tinents, and  finally  halted  on  the  Delaware  about 
sixty  miles  north  of  Philadelphia.  Its  southern 
verge   spread   across  America  from   Alaska  to  St. 


THE  TERMINAL  MORAINE.  243 

Louis,  and  thence  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  northern 
coast  of  New  Jersey.  Its  southern  boundary  entered 
Western  Pennsylvania  near  Beaver,  passing  north- 
east to  the  New  York  line  ;  then  turning  southeast,  it 
crossed  the  Lehigh  about  ten  miles  northwest  of 
Mauch  Chunk  and  the  Delaware  just  below  Belvi- 
dere.  It  crossed  New  Jersey  to  Staten  Island,  trav- 
ersed the  length  of  Long  Island,  and  passed  out  to 
sea,  appearing  on  Block  Island,  Cape  Cod,  St. 
George's  Bank  and  Sable  Island  Shoal,  south  of  Nova 
Scotia.  The  boundary  of  the  glacier  west  of  the 
"  Foul  Rift n  on  the  Delaware  appears  as  a  range  of 
low  gravel  hills,  which  are  piled  upon  the  slate  hills 
of  Northampton  farther  west,  and  reach  the  base  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  three  miles  east  of  the  "  Wind  Gap." 
The  boundary  here  mounted  and  crossed  the  Kitta- 
tinny  ridge  sixteen  hundred  feet  high,  being  well 
shown  upon  its  summit,  and  then  passed  over  the  in- 
tervening valley  to  the  Broad  Mountain  or  Pocono 
range.  The  Delaware  at  the  "Foul  Rift"  is  ele- 
vated two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  tide  j  and 
where  the  glacier  boundary  crossed  the  mountains  in 
the  interior  it  was  at  about  twenty-six  hundred  feet 
elevation  on  the  highest  land  in  Potter  County,  the 
Continental  watershed. 

This  vast  glacier  was  so  thick  as  to  overtop  even 
Mount  Washington,  for  it  dropped  transported  boul- 
ders on  the  summit  of  that  highest  peak  in  New 
England.     Its  southern  edge  in  Pennsylvania  was  at 


244     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

least  eight  hundred  feet  thick  in  solid  ice.  A  hun- 
dred miles  back  among  the  Catskills  it  was  thirty-one 
hundred  feet  thick,  and  two  hundred  miles  back  in 
northern  New  England  it  was  five  thousand  to  six 
thousand  feet  thick,  being  still  thicker  farther  north- 
ward. The  Pocono  Knob,  near  Stroudsburg,  in  Pike 
County,  Pennsylvania,  out-topped  the  glacier,  and 
jutted  out  almost  like  an  island  surrounded  by  ice. 
The  late  Professor  H.  Carvill  Lewis,  who  closely 
studied  this  glacier,  has  described  how,  all  over  the 
country  which  it  covered,  it  dropped  what  is  known 
as  the  "  northern  drift,"  or  "  till,"  or  "  hardpan,"  in 
scattered  deposits  of  stones,  clay,  gravel  and  debris 
of  all  kinds,  brought  down  from  the  northward  as  the 
ice  moved  along,  and  irregularly  dumped  upon  the  sur- 
face, thickly  in  some  places  and  thinly  in  others,  with 
many  boulders,  some  of  enormous  size.  It  abraded 
all  the  rock  surfaces  crossed,  and  transported  and 
rounded  and  striated  the  fragments  torn  off  in  its  re- 
sistless passage.  The  line  of  farthest  southern  ad- 
vance of  the  ice  is  shown  by  the  "  Terminal  Mo- 
raine," stretching  across  country,  which  put  the 
obstructions  into  the  "  Foul  Rift."  A  glacier  always 
pushes  up  at  its  foot  a  mound  of  material  composed 
of  fragments  of  rocks  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  which 
the  ice  has  taken  up  at  various  points  along  its  flow 
and  carried  to  its  terminus,  thus  forming  the  moraine. 
This  "  Terminal  Moraine  "  has  been  traced  and  care- 
fully studied  for  four  hundred  miles  across  Pennsyl- 


THE  TERMINAL  MORAINE.  245 

vania,  showing  throughout  a  remarkable  accumula- 
tion of  drift  materials  and  boulders,  heaped  into 
irregular  hills  and  hollows  over  a  strip  of  land  nearly 
a  mile  wide.  The  action  of  the  Delaware  River  cur- 
rents at  the  u  Foul  Rift v  has  washed  out  the  finer 
materials  and  cobblestones,  leaving  only  the  larger 
boulders  and  rocks  to  perplex  the  navigator. 

Some  of  the  performances  of  this  great  glacier  in 
the  region  adjacent  to  the  Delaware  are  remarkable. 
It  has  carried  huge  granite  boulders  from  the  far 
north  and  planted  them  all  along  the  summit  of  the 
Kittatinny  where  it  crossed.  It  has  torn  out  big 
pieces  of  limestone,  some  of  them  thirty  feet  long, 
from  their  beds  in  Monroe  County,  north  of  this 
range,  carried  them  in  the  ice  more  than  a  thousand 
feet  up  its  steep  northern  face  and  over  the  summit, 
finally  dropping  them  on  the  south  side  in  the  mo- 
raine in  the  slate  valley  of  Northampton.  These  im- 
mense limestone  rocks  made  comparatively  short 
journeys,  but  one  ponderous  boulder  of  syenite  from 
the  Adirondacks  was  found  in  Northampton,  well 
rounded  and  dressed,  having  travelled  in  the  ice  at 
least  two  hundred  miles.  There  has  also  been  found 
a  "  glacial  groove  "  upon  the  rocks  of  the  Kittatinny 
near  the  Water  Gap,  where  some  ponderous  frag- 
ment, imbedded  in  the  ice,  as  it  moved  along  has 
gouged  out  a  great  scratch  six  feet  wide  and  seventy 
feet  in  length.  Although  this  ice  had  evidently  re- 
sistless power  in  its  slow  motion,  yet  it  seems  to  have 


246     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

had  small  influence  upon  the  topography  of  the 
country.  It  appears  to  have  merely  "  sand-papered " 
the  surfaces  of  the  rocks.  It  passed  bodily  across 
the  sharp  edges  of  the  upright  sandstone  strata  of 
the  Kittatinny,  yet  has  not  had  appreciable  effect  in 
cutting  the  ridge  down,  the  glaciated  portion  east  of 
the  a  Wind  Gap  "  appearing  as  high  and  as  sharply 
defined  as  the  unglaciated  part  to  the  westward  of 
the  moraine.  The  glacier  made  many  lakes  north 
of  the  moraine,  due  to  the  u  kettle  holes  *  and  ob- 
struction of  streams  by  unequal  deposits  of  drift. 
It  is  inferred  in  the  estimates  of  the  duration  of  the 
glacier,  from  astronomical  data,  that  the  cold  period 
began  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  years  ago, 
the  greatest  cold  being  many  thousand  years  later. 
The  intense  cold  began  moderating  eighty  thousand 
years  ago,  but  the  sea  of  ice  remained  long  after- 
wards, and  steadily  diminished  under  the  increasing 
heat.  So  many  thousand  years  being  required  for 
melting,  there  are  data  inducing  the  belief  that  the  ice- 
cap did  not  retreat  from  this  part  of  the  country  back 
to  Greenland  until  within  ten  thousand  or  fifteen  thou- 
sand years  ago.  Then  came  the  floods  of  water  from 
the  melting  glacier,  and  it  is  significant  that  the  In- 
dians in  the  spacious  valley  northwest  of  the  Kittatinny 
called  that  fertile  region  the  "Minisink,"  meaning  "the 
waters  have  gone,"  indicating  their  legendary  memory 
of  the  floods  following  the  melting  and  retreat  of  the 
glacier  and  the  final  outflow  of  its  waters. 


THE  DELAWAEE  WATEE  GAP.  247 

THE   DELAWARE   WATER   GAP. 

Belvidere,  the  "town  of  the  beautiful  view," 
nestles  upon  the  broad  terraces  under  the  Jersey 
ridges  at  the  mouth  of  Pequest  Creek,  and  looks  pret- 
tily out  upon  the  high  hills  and  distant  mountains 
across  the  Delaware.  Above  the  town,  the  river 
makes  a  great  bend  to  the  westward  in  rounding  the 
huge  and  almost  perpendicular  mass  of  Manunka 
Chunk  Mountain,  a  name  which  has  been  got  by  a 
process  of  gradual  evolution  from  its  Indian  title  of 
u  Penungauchung."  Here,  through  a  gorge  just 
above,  is  got  the  first  view  of  the  distant  Water 
Gap,  cleft  down  in  the  dark  blue  Kittatinny  ten 
miles  away.  Approaching  it 'as  the  river  winds,  all 
the  views  have  this  great  Gap  for  the  gem  of  the 
landscape,  the  ponderous  wall  of  the  Kittatinny 
stretching  broadly  across  the  horizon  and  steadily 
rising  into  greater  prominence  as  it  comes  nearer. 

M I  lift  my  eyes  and  ye  are  ever  there, 
Wrapped  in  the  folds  of  the  imperial  air, 
And  crowned  with  the  gold  of  morn  or  evening  rare, 
O,  far  blue  hills." 

As  it  is  gradually  approached,  the  Gap  and  its  en- 
closing ridge  attain  enormous  proportions,  dwarfing 
the  smaller  hills,  among  which  the  narrow,  placid 
river  flows  below  j  and  it  is  realized  how  tame  are 
all  the  other  ridges  through  which  the  Delaware  has 
passed  compared  with   this   towering  Blue    Ridge^ 


248     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

having  the  low-lying  Blockade  Mountain  just  behind, 
and  partly  closing  the  Gap.  Soon  we  reach  the  foot 
of  the  range,  and,  bending  with  the  river  suddenly 
to  the  left,  enter  the  Gap.  Scarcely  have  we  entered 
when  the  river,  which  has  been  swinging  to  the  left, 
bends  around  again  gradually  to  the  right,  and  in  a 
moment  we  are  through  the  gorge,  the  river  then 
circling  around  the  Blockade  Mountain,  which  has 
been  so  named  because  it  seems  always  stupidly  in 
the  way. 

The  Indians  called  the  Water  Gap  "  Pohoqualin," 
meaning  "  the  river  between  the  mountains."  The 
Delaware  flows  through  it  with  a  width  of  eight  hun- 
dred feet  and  at  an  elevation  of  about  three  hundred 
feet  above  tide.  It  is  twenty-nine  miles  northeast  of 
the  Lehigh  Gap  where  the  Lehigh  River  passes  the 
Blue  Ridge,  and  there  are  Hve  other  gaps  between 
them,  of  which  the  "  Wind  Gap,"  heretofore  referred 
to,  is  the  chief.  For  many  years  this  Wind  Gap 
provided  the  only  route  to  reach  the  country  north 
of  the  Kittatinny.  About  two  and  a  half  miles  south- 
west of  the  Delaware  is  "  Tat's  Gap,"  named  in 
memory  of  Moses  Fonda  Tatamy,  an  old  time  Indian 
interpreter  in  this  region,  and  familiarly  called 
"  Tat's  "  for  short.  The  greatest  of  all  these  passes, 
however,  is  the  Water  Gap,  where  the  Blue  Ridge, 
rent  asunder,  has  two  noble  peaks  guarding  the  por- 
tals, towering  sixteen  hundred  feet  high,  and  named 
in  honor  of  the  Indians — Mount  Minsi  in  Pennsylva- 


THE  MINTSINK.  249 

nia,  after  the  tribes  of  the  Minisink,  and  Mount  Tam- 
many in  New  Jersey,  for  the  great  chief  of  the 
Lenni  Lenapes. 

"  Crags,  knolls  and  mounds,  in  dire  confusion  hurled, 
The  fragmentary  elements  of  an  earlier  world." 

The  Water  Gap  is  a  popular  summer  resort,  there 
being  numerous  hotels  and  boarding-houses  in  eligi- 
ble locations  all  about  it,  and  the  romantic  scenery 
has  been  opened  up  by  roads  and  paths  leading  to  all 
the  points  of  view.  It  is  on  such  a  stupendous 
scale,  and  exhibits  the  geological  changes  wrought 
during  countless  ages  so  well,  that  it  always  attracts 
the  greatest  interest.  To  the  northward  spread  the 
fertile  valleys  of  the  Minisink ;  and  the  Delaware, 
which  below  the  Gap  flows  to  the  southeast,  passing 
through  all  the  ridges,  comes  from  the  northeast  above 
the  Gap,  and  flows  along  the  base  of  the  Kittatinny 
for  miles,  as  if  seeking  the  outlet  which  it  at  length 
finds  in  this  remarkable  pass. 

THE   MINISINK. 

From  the  elevated  points  of  outlook  at  the  Water 
Gap  the  observer  can  gaze  northward  over  the  fer- 
tile and  attractive  hunting-grounds  of  the  Minsis,  the 
land  of  the  Minisink  stretching  far  up  the  Delaware, 
and  from  the  Kittatinny  over  to  the  base  of  the 
Pocono  Mountain.  This  is  the  region  of  the  "  buried 
valleys,"  remarkable  trough-like  valleys,  made  during 


250     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

an  ancient  geological  period,  and  partially  filled  up 
by  the  d6bris  from  the  great  glacier.  From  the  Hud- 
son River  in  New  York,  southwest  to  the  Lehigh,  and 
just  beyond  the  Kittatinny  range,  two  long  valleys, 
with  an  intervening  ridge,  stretch  across  the  country. 
The  Delaware  River,  from  Port  Jervis  to  Bushkill, 
flows  down  the  northwestern  of  these  valleys,  then 
doubles  back  on  itself,  and  breaks  through  the  inter- 
vening ridge  at  the  remarkable  Walpack  Bend  into 
the  other  valley,  and  follows  it  down  to  the  Water 
Gap.  The  northwestern  valley  begins  at  Rondout 
on  the  Hudson,  crosses  New  York  State  to  Port 
Jervis,  where  the  Delaware,  coming  from  the  north- 
west, turns  to  the  southeast  into  it,  occupying  it  for 
thirty  miles  to  Bushkill,  and  then  the  valley  continues 
past  Stroudsburg,  just  above  the  Water  Gap,  to  the 
Lehigh  River  at  Weissport,  below  Mauch  Chunk. 
The  other  valley  is  parallel  to  it  at  the  base  of  the 
Kittatinny.  These  valleys,  underlaid  by  the  shales 
as  bed-rocks,  have  been  filled  up  with  drift  by  the 
glacier  from  one  hundred  to  seven  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  and  they  constitute  the  famous  region  of  the 
Minisink. 

In  this  fertile  district  was  the  earliest  settlement 
made  by  white  men  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Dutch  from 
the  Hudson  River  wandering  over  to  the  Delaware  at 
Port  Jervis  through  these  valleys,  and  settling  on  the 
prolific  bottom  lands  along  the  river,  many  years  be- 
fore Penn  came  to  Philadelphia.     They  opened  cop- 


THE  MINISINK  251 

per-mines  in  the  Kittatinny,  just  above  the  Water 
Gap,  and  made  the  old  "  Mine  Road  v  to  reach  them, 
coming  from  Esopus  on  the  Hudson.  The  records  at 
Albany  of  1650  refer  to  specimens  brought  from  "  a 
copper-mine  at  the  Minisink."  The  Provincial  au- 
thorities at  Philadelphia  do  not  appear  to  have  had 
any  clear  knowledge  of  settlers  above  the  Water 
Gap  until  1729,  when  they  sent  a  surveyor  up  to 
examine  and  report,  and  he  found  Nicholas  Depui  in 
a  snug  home,  where  he  had  bought  two  islands  and 
level  land  on  the  shore  from  the  Indians  some  time 
before.  Like  the  Dutch  settlers  above,  Depui  had 
no  idea  where  the  river  went  to.  He  was  a  French 
Huguenot  exile  from  Holland,  and,  without  disputing 
with  the  surveyor,  he  again  bought  his  land,  nearly 
six  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  in  1733,  from  the 
grantees  of  the  Penns.  His  stockaded  stone  house 
was  known  as  Depui's  Fort,  and  after  him  the  Water 
Gap  was  long  called  "  Depui's  Gap."  Old  George 
La  Bar  was  the  most  famous  resident  of  the  Water 
Gap.  Three  brothers  La  Bar,  Peter,  Charles  and 
Abraham,  also  French  Huguenots,  lived  near  the 
Gap,  and  each  married  a  Dutch  wife.  In  1808, 
however,  this  region  became  too  crowded  for  them, 
and  Peter,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  migrated  to  Ohio 
to  get  more  room.  When  ninety-eight  years  old  his 
wife  died,  and  in  his  one  hundredth  year  he  married 
another  out  on  the  Ohio  frontier,  and  lived  to  the  ripe 
age  of  one  hundred  and  five.     Peter,  when  he  mi- 


252     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

grated,  left  his  son  George  La  Bar  at  the  Gap,  where 
he  had  been  born  in  1763.  George  was  the  famous 
centenarian  of  Pennsylvania,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
one  hundred  and  seven,  being  a  vigorous  axeman 
almost  until  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  too  young 
for  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  but  when  the  War  of 
1812  came  he  was  too  old.  In  1869,  at  the  age  of 
one  hundred  and  six,  a  visitor  describes  him  as  fell- 
ing trees  and  peeling  with  his  own  hands  three 
wagon-loads  of  bark,  which  went  to  the  tannery. 
He  never  wore  spectacles,  always  used  tobacco,  voted 
the  straight  Democratic  ticket,  and  at  every  Presi- 
dential election  from  Washington  to  Grant,  and  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  ride  on  a  railway  train,  regard- 
ing the  cars  as  an  innovation. 

In  this  region  of  the  Minisink  is  the  pleasant  town 
of  Stroudsburg,  the  county-seat  of  Monroe,  its  beau- 
tiful valley  being  well  described  by  a  local  authority 
as  u  full  of  dimpling  hills  and  fine  orchards,  among 
which  stalwart  men  live  to  a  ripe  old  age  upon  the 
purest  apple  whisky."  Its  finest  building,  the  State 
Normal  College,  handsomely  located  on  an  elevated 
ridge,  has  three  hundred  students.  The  town  was 
named  for  Jacob  Stroud,  a  pioneer  and  Indian  fighter, 
who  was  with  General  Wolfe  when  he  scaled  the 
Heights  of  Abraham,  and,  capturing  Quebec,  changed 
the  map  of  Colonial  America.  Marshall's  Creek 
comes  down  to  join  its  waters  with  Brodhead's  Creek 
below  Stroudsburg,  and  a  few  miles  above  displays 


THE  MINISINK.  253 

the  pretty  little  cataract  of  Marshall's  Falls.  Six 
miles  northwest  of  Stroudsburg  is  the  Pocono  Knob, 
rising  in  stately  grandeur  as  it  abruptly  terminates 
the  Pocono  Mountain  wall  on  its  eastern  face.  It 
was  this  Knob  which  stood  out  as  an  island  in  the 
edge  of  the  great  glacier,  a  deep  notch  separating  its 
summit  from  the*  plateau  behind,  and  the  Terminal 
Moraine  encircles  its  sides  at  about  two-thirds  its 
height.  In  the  river  bottom  lands  are  fertile  farms, 
and  a  great  deal  of  tobacco  is  raised.  Thus  the  river 
leads  us  to  Bushkill  and  the  great  Walpack  Bend. 
The  Delaware,  coming  from  the  northeast,  impinges 
upon  the  solid  sandstone  wall  of  the  "  Hog's  Back/7 
the  prolongation  of  the  ridge  dividing  the  two 
u  Buried  Valleys."  This  ridge  bristles  with  attenu- 
ated firs,  and  hence  its  appropriate  name.  The  Big 
Bushkill  and  the  Little  Bushkill  Creeks,  uniting,  flow 
in  from  the  west,  and  the  Delaware  turns  sharply 
eastward  and  then  back  upon  itself  around  the  ridge 
into  the  other  valley,  and  resumes  its  course  south- 
west again  down  to  the  Water  Gap.  This  double 
Walpack  curve,  making  a  perfect  letter  "  S,"  is  so 
narrow  and  compressed  that  a  rifleman,  standing  on 
either  side,  can  readily  send  his  bullet  in  a  straight 
line  across  the  river  three  times.  The  Indian  word 
Walpack  means  "  a  turn  hole."  The  Delaware  here 
is  a  succession  of  rifts  and  pools,  making  a  constant 
variation  of  rapids  and  still  waters,  with  many  spots 
sacred   to   the    angler,    and   displaying   magnificent 


254     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

scenery  as  the  lights  and  shadows  pass  across  the 
beautiful  forest-covered  hills  enclosing  its  banks. 

BUSHKILL   TO   PORT  JERVIS. 

Bushkill  village  is  in  a  picturesque  location,  open- 
ing pleasantly  towards  the  Delaware.  It  is  also  just 
over  the  Monroe  border,  in  Pike  County,  long  ago 
described  by  Horace  Greeley  as  u  famous  for  rattle- 
snakes and  Democrats,"  but  now  more  noted  for  its 
fine  waterfalls  and  attractive  scenery,  its  many  streams 
draining  numerous  beautiful  lakes,  and  dancing  down 
frequent  roaring  rapids  in  the  journey  to  the  Dela- 
ware. The  falls  of  the  Little  Bushkill  near  the  vil- 
lage is  the  finest  cataract  in  Pennsylvania.  From 
Bushkill,  bordering  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Dela- 
ware, for  thirty  miles  up  to  Port  Jervis,  is  one  of  the 
best  roads  in  the  world.  The  Marcellus  shales  of  the 
Buried  Valley,  which  form  the  towering  cliffs  border- 
ing the  river  along  the  base  of  which  the  road  is  laid, 
make  a  road-bed  as  smooth  and  hard  as  a  floor,  the 
chief  highway  of  this  district,  for  the  railway  has  not 
yet  penetrated  it.  Over  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  the  great  Kittatinny  ridge  presents  an  almost 
unbroken  wall  for  more  than  forty  miles  from  the 
Water  Gap  up  to  Port  Jervis.  Frequent  creeks 
come  in,  all  angling  streams,  the  chief  of  them  being 
Dingman's,  which  for  several  miles  displays  a  series 
of  cataracts,  and  at  its  mouth  has  the  noted  Pike 
County  village  of  u  Dingman's  Choice,"  at  which  is 


BUSHKILL  TO  PORT  JERVIS.  255 

located  the  time-honored  Dingman's  Ferry,  across 
the  Delaware.  The  source  of  Dingman's  Creek  is 
in  the  Silver  Lake,  about  seven  miles  west  of  the 
Delaware,  and  in  its  flow  it  descends  about  nine  hun- 
dred feet,  breaking  its  way  over  the  various  strata  of 
Catskill,  Chemung  and  Hamilton  sandstones.  The 
upper  cataracts,  called  the  Fulmer  and  Factory  Falls 
and  the  Deer  Leap,  are  located  in  a  beautiful  ravine 
known  as  the  Childs  Park,  while,  below,  the  creek 
pours  over  the  High  Falls,  one  hundred  and  thirty' 
'feet  high,  a  short  distance  from  the  river.  Near  this 
is  the  curious  Soap  Trough,  an  inclined  plane  de- 
scending one  hundred  feet,  always  filled  with  foam, 
down  which  comes  the  Silver  Thread,  a  small  tribu- 
tary stream.  The  gorge  by  which  Dingman's  Creek 
comes  out  is  deep  and  massive,  the  entrance  being 
a  narrow  canyon  cut  down  into  the  Marcellus  shales 
which  make  the  towering  cliffs  along  the  river. 
There  are  also  fine  cataracts  on  the  Raymondskill  and 
the  Sawkill,  flowing  into  the  Delaware  above.  The 
cliffs  here  rise  into  Utter's  Peak,  elevated  eight  hun- 
dred feet,  giving  a  magnificent  view  along  the  valley. 
The  little  town  of  Milford,  the  county-seat  of  Pike, 
is  one  of  the  gems  of  this  district,  spread  over  a 
broad  terrace  on  the  bluff  high  above  the  Delaware, 
with  a  grand  outlook  at  the  ponderous  Kittatinny  in 
front,  rising  to  its  greatest  elevation  at  High  Point, 
six  miles  away,  where  a  hotel  is  perched  on  the  sum- 
mit.    Surrounded    by   mountains,   the   late   N.   P^ 


256     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Willis,  when  he  visited  Milford,  was  so  impressed  by 
its  peculiar  situation  that  he  described  it  as  "  looking 
like  a  town  that  all  the  mountains  around  have  dis- 
owned and  kicked  into  the  middle."  Thomas  Quick, 
Sr.,  a  Hollander,  who  came  over  from  the  Hudson 
in  1733,  was  the  first  settler  in  Milford.  His  noted 
son,  Thomas  Quick,  the  "  Indian  Killer,"  was  born 
in  1734.  u  Tom  Quick,"  as  he  was  called,  was 
brought  up  among  the  Indians,  and  had  the  closest 
friendship  for  them  ;  but  when  the  terrible  Colonial 
war  began,  the  savages,  in  a  foray,  killed  and  scalped 
his  father  almost  by  his  side,  Tom  being  shot  in  the 
foot,  but  escaping.  Tom  vowed  vengeance,  and  ever 
afterwards  was  a  perfect  demon  in  his  hatred  of  the 
Indians,  sparing  neither  age  nor  sex.  After  the 
French  and  Indian  war  had  closed  and  peace  was 
proclaimed,  he  carried  on  his  own  warfare  indepen- 
dently. The  most  harrowing  tales  are  told  of  his 
Indian  murders,  some  being  horribly  brutal.  He 
never  married,  but  hunted  Indians  and  wild  beasts  all 
his  life,  and  was  outlawed  by  the  Government,  it 
being  announced  that  no  Indian  who  killed  him 
would  be  punished ;  but  he  finally  died  in  bed  in 
1796.  He  was  entirely  unrepentant  during  his  last 
illness,  regretting  he  had  not  killed  more  Indians ; 
and  after  saying  he  had  killed  ninety -nine  during  his 
life,  he  begged  them  to  bring  in  an  old  Indian  who 
lived  in  the  settlement,  so  that  he  might  appropri- 
ately close  his  career  by  killing  the  hundredth  red- 


BUSHKILL  TO  PORT  JERVIS.       257 

skin.  The  most  noted  Milford  building  is  u  Pinchot's 
Castle,"  on  the  hillside  above  the  Sawkill,  a  Norman- 
Breton  baronial  hall,  the  summer  house  of  the  Pin- 
chot  family  of  New  York,  whose  ancestor,  a  French 
refugee  after  Waterloo,  was  an  early  settler  here. 

Seven  miles  above  Milford  the  Delaware  River 
makes  the  great  right-angled  bend  in  its  course,  from 
the  southeast  to  the  southwest,  which  is  known  as  the 
u  Tri-States  Corner,"  and  here,  on  the  broad  flats  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Neversink  River,  is  the  town  of 
Port  Jervis.  From  the  village  of  Deposit,  ninety 
miles  above,  the  Delaware  descends  in  level  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy  feet ;  and  from  Port  Jervis  down 
to  the  Water  Gap,  forty-three  miles,  the  descent  is 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet.  In  the  first  it 
falls  six  feet  per  mile  and  in  the  latter  only  three 
feet,  the  difference  being  caused  by  the  entirely 
changed  conditions  above  and  below  the  great  bend. 
Above,  the  Delaware  flows  through  the  ridges  by  a 
winding  ravine  cut  transversely  across  the  hard  rocks 
almost  all  the  way,  while  below,  it  meanders  parallel 
to  the  ridges  along  the  outcrop  of  the  softer  rocks  of 
the  Marcellus  shales  and  Clinton  formations  in  the 
long,  trough-like  buried  valleys.  The  Neversink 
comes  from  the  northeast  through  one  of  these  val 
leys  which  is  prolonged  over  to  the  Hudson,  the 
source  of  the  Neversink  being  on  a  divide  of  such 
gentle  slope  that  the  large  spring  making  the  head 
sends   part  of  its   waters  the    other  way,  .through 


258     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Rondout  Creek  into  the  Hudson.  A  long,  narrow 
peninsula,  just  at  the  completion  of  the  great  bend, 
juts  out  between  the  Neversink  and  the  Delaware, 
ending  in  a  sharp,  low,  wedge-like  rocky  point,  the 
extremity  being  the  "  Tri-States  Corner,"  where  the 
boundary  line  between  New  Jersey  and  New  York 
reaches  the  Delaware,  and  ends  in  mid-river  at  the 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania.  This  spot  was  located 
after  a  long  boundary  war,  and  the  fact  is  duly  re- 
corded on  the  "  Tri-States  Rock,"  down  at  the  end 
of  the  point.  The  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  con- 
structed in  1828,  and  coming  over  from  Rondout 
Creek  through  the  Neversink  Valley,  made  Port 
Jervis,  which  was  named  after  one  of  its  engineers. 
The  canal  goes  up  the  Delaware  to  the  Lackawaxen, 
and  then  follows  that  stream  to  Honesdale.  The  Erie 
Railway  also  comes  through  a  gap  in  the  Kittatinny 
(here  called  the  Shawangunk  Mountain,  meaning  the 
u  white  rocks "),  descends  to  Port  Jervis,  and  then 
follows  up  the  Delaware.  These  two  great  public 
works  have  made  the  prosperity  of  the  town,  which 
has  a  population  of  over  ten  thousand.  The  long 
and  towering  ridge  of  Point  Peter,  forming  the  north- 
western boundary  of  the  Neversink  Valley,  and 
thrust  out  to  the  Delaware,  bounding  the  gorge 
through  which  the  river  comes,  overlooks  the  town. 
On  the  other  side  is  the  highest  elevation  of  the  Kit- 
tatinny and  the  most  elevated  land  in  New  Jersey, 
High  Point,  rising  nineteen  hundred  and  sixty  feet. 


THE  CATSKILL  FLAGS.  259 


THE   CATSKILL  FLAGS. 

The  broadened  valley  of  the  Delaware  extends  a 
short  distance  above  Port  Jervis,  the  canal  and  rail- 
way rounding  the  ponderous  battlements  of  Point 
Peter  and  then  proceeding  up  the  river,  one  on 
either  bank.  About  three  miles  above  the  "  Port/' 
as  it  is  familiarly  called,  the  valley  contracts  to  a 
rock-enclosed  gorge,  for  here  the  Delaware  emerges 
from  its  great  canyon  in  the  Catskill  series  of  rocks, 
in  the  bottom  of  which  it  flows  from  Deposit,  at  the 
northern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  eighty-seven 
miles  above.  The  remarkable  change  seen  in  the 
surrounding  topography  indicates  the  presence  of  a 
different  rock  formation  from  that  passed  below,  and 
the  river  runs  out  of  the  Catskill  rocks  over  the 
"  Saw-mill  rift."  For  thirty  miles  above,  to  the 
northern  line  of  Pike  County,  at  Narrowsburg,  the 
river  banks  mostly  are  only  mere  shelves  a  few  rods 
wide,  and  frequently  present  nothing  but  the  faces 
of  rocky  walls,  rising  perpendicularly  from  the  water 
to  a  height  of  six  hundred  feet  or  more.  From  the 
expanding  limestones  below,  the  valley  here  suddenly 
contracts  in  the  flags  and  ledges  of  the  Catskill  series. 
All  the  small  streams  coming  from  the  bluffs  back  of 
the  cliffs  descend  with  rapid  fall,  and  frequently  over 
high  cascades.  These  Catskill  flags,  built  up  in  vast 
construction,  rear  their  gaunt  and  weather-beaten 
jagged  walls  and  wood-crowned  turrets  on  high. 
Vol.  1—12 


260     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Perched  far  up  on  the  New  York  side,  at  the  nar- 
rowest part  of  this  remarkable  gorge,  is  an  eyrie 
called  the  •/  Hawk's  Nest,"  which  gives  a  wonderful 
view,  reached  by  a  road  carved  out  of  the  rocky  side 
of  the  abyss.  This  road,  hung  on  the  perpendicular 
wall  five  hundred  feet  over  the  river,  is  the  only 
available  route  to  the  part  of  New  York  north  of 
Port  Jervis.  The  canal  and  railway,  far  below,  are 
each  set  on  a  shelf  cut  out  of  the  rocky  banks.  The 
enclosing  cliffs  rise  higher  as  the  river  is  ascended, 
sometimes  reaching  an  elevation  of  twelve  hundred 
feet  5  and  here  for  miles  are  seen  the  famous  Dela- 
ware and  Starucca  flags,  rising  hundreds  of  feet  in  a 
continuous  wall  of  bluish-gray  and  greenish-gray 
flaggy  sandstones.  They  are  extensively  quarried 
and  shipped  to  New  York.  Both  railway  and  canal 
construction  through  this  deep  cleft  were  enormously 
costly. 

THE    BATTLE    OF   LACKAWAXEN. 

Here  is  Shohola  Township,  on  the  Pennsylvania 
shore,  a  wild  and  rocky  region  fronting  on  the  river 
for  about  ten  miles,  and  Shohola  Creek  rushes  down 
a  rocky  bed  through  a  deep  gorge  to  seek  the  Dela- 
ware. It  was  at  this  place  the  surveyors'  line  was 
drawn  from  the  Lehigh  over  to  the  Delaware,  after 
Marshall's  fateful  walk.  The  "  Shohola  Glen,"  a 
favorite  excursion  ground,  has  the  channel  of  the 
creek,  only  forty  feet  wide,  cut  down  for  two  hun- 
dred feet  deep  into  the  flagstones,  and  it  plunges  over 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LACKA WAXEN.  261 

four  attractive  cascades  at  the  Shohola  Falls  above. 
A  short  distance  northward  the  Lackawaxen  flows 
in  through  a  fine  gorge,  broadening  out  as  the  Dela- 
ware is  approached  j  and  the  canal,  after  crossing  the 
latter  on  an  aqueduct,  goes  up  the  Lackawaxen  bank. 
A  grand  amphitheatre  of  towering  hills  surrounds  the 
broad  flats  where  the  Lackawaxen  brings  its  ample 
flow  of  dark  amber-colored  waters  out  of  the  hemlock 
forests  and  swamps  of  Wayne  County  to  this  pictur- 
esque spot.  Here  was  fought,  on  July  22,  1779,  the 
battle  of  Lackawaxen  or  the  Minisink,  the  chief 
Revolutionary  conflict  on  the  upper  Delaware.  The 
battlefield  was  a  rocky  ledge  on  the  New  York  side, 
elevated  about  iiye  hundred  feet  above  the  river, 
amid  the  lofty  hills  of  Highland  Township,  in  Sullivan 
County.  The  noted  Mohawk  chief,  Joseph  Brandt, 
with  a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  Indians  and  Tories, 
came  down  from  Northern  New  York  to  plunder  the 
frontier  settlements.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  fled 
down  to  the  forts  on  the  Lehigh  or  across  the  Blue 
Ridge,  upon  his  approach ;  but  a  small  militia  force 
was  hastily  gathered  under  Colonels  Hathorn  and 
Tusten  to  meet  the  enemy,  whom  they  found  cross- 
ing the  Delaware  at  a  ford  near  the  Lackawaxen. 
Hathorn,  who  commanded,  moved  to  attack,  but 
Brandt  rushed  his  Indians  up  a  ravine,  intercepting 
Hathorn  just  as  he  got  out  on  the  rocky  ledge,  and 
cutting  off  about  fifty  of  his  rear  guard.  Hathorn 
had  ninety  men  with  him,  who  quickly  threw  up  a 


262     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

rude  breastwork,  protecting  about  a  half-acre  of  the 
ledge.  Their  ammunition  was  scant,  it  was  a  ter- 
ribly hot  day,  they  had  no  water,  and  were  soon  sur- 
rounded; but  for  six  hours  they  bravely  defended 
themselves,  when,  the  ammunition  being  all  gone, 
the  Indians  broke  through  their  line.  Tusten  was 
attending  the  wounded,  and  with  seventeen  wounded 
men,  whom  he  was  alleviating,  was  tomahawked,  all 
being  massacred.  The  others  fled,  many  being  slain 
in  the  pursuit.  Forty-four  of  the  little  band  were 
killed,  and  the  fifty  in  the  rear  guard  who  had  been 
cut  off  were  never  afterwards  heard  of.  Years  after- 
wards, the  bones  of  the  slain  in  this  terrible  defeat 
were  gathered  on  the  field  and  taken  across  the  Blue 
Ridge  to  Goshen  for  interment,  and  in  1822  a  monu- 
ment was  erected  at  Goshen  in  their  memory,  Colonel 
Hathorn,  who  was  then  living,  making  an  address. 
On  the  centenary  anniversary  in  1879  a  monument 
was  dedicated  on  the  field,  where  faint  relics  of  the 
old  breastwork  were  still  traceable  on  the  rocky  ledge 
perched  high  above  the  river,  almost  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Lackawaxen. 

THE   SYLVANIA  SOCIETY. 

The  county  of  Wayne  is  separated  from  the  county 
of  Lackawanna  by  the  great  Moosic  Mountain  range, 
the  divide  between  two  noted  rivers,  the  Lackawaxen 
and  the  Lackawanna.  The  former,  draining  its 
southeastern    slopes    to    the    Delaware,    was    the 


THE  SYLVANIA  SOCIETY.  263 

u  Lechau-weksink  "  of  the  Indians,  meaning  *  where 
the  roads  part/'  evidently  referring  to  the  parting  of 
the  Indian  trails  at  its  confluence  with  the  Delaware  ; 
the  latter,  flowing  out  to  the  Susquehanna  on  its 
northwestern  side,  was  the  "  Lechau-hanne/7  or 
"  where  the  streams  part/7  signifying  the  forks  of 
two  rivers.  We  ascend  the  Lackawaxen,  finding  the 
route  up  the  gorge  along  the  canal  towpath,  once  the 
great  water  way  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Com- 
pany for  bringing  out  coal,  but  now  abandoned,  as 
the  railway  route  is  cheaper.  This  canal,  opened  in 
1828,  was  one  hundred  and  seventeen  miles  long,  and 
ascended  from  tidewater  on  the  Hudson  at  Rondout  to 
four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  elevation  at  Port  Jervis, 
and  nine  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  at  Honesdale. 
Its  route  throughout  is  through  grand  river  gorges 
and  the  most  magnificent  scenery. 

It  was  in  this  beautiful  region,  just  south  of  the 
river,  that  Horace  Greeley,  in  1842,  started  what  he 
called  the  "Sylvania  Society/7  founded  to  demon- 
strate the  wisdom  of  "  the  common  ownership  of 
property  and  the  equal  division  of  labor/7  which 
Greeley  was  then  advocating  by  lectures  and  in  his 
newspaper.  Many  eminent  persons  took  stock  in  the 
society  at  $25  per  share,  and  the  experiment  of  co- 
operative farming  was  begun  in  a  region  of  rough 
and  rocky  Pike  County  soil,  where  the  amateur 
farmers  also  found  amusement,  for  it  is  recorded  that 
"  the  stream  was  alive  with  trout,  and  the  surround- 


264     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ing  hills  were  equally  well  provided  with  the  largest 
and  liveliest  of  rattlesnakes."  They  had  weekly  lec- 
tures and  dancing  parties,  the  colony  at  one  time 
numbering  three  hundred  persons,  Mr.  Greeley,  who 
took  the  deepest  interest,  frequently  visiting  them. 
The  society  was  a  success  socially  and  intellectually, 
but  the  labor  problem  soon  caused  trouble.  A  Board 
of  Directors  governed  the  farm  and  assigned  the 
laborers  their  work,  the  principle  of  equality  being 
observed  by  changing  them  from  one  branch  of  labor 
to  another  day  by  day.  But  trouble  soon  came,  for 
there  were  too  many  wayward  sons  sent  out  from 
New  York  to  the  colony  who  never  had  worked  and 
never  intended  to,  but  preferred  going  fishing.  Vari- 
ous of  the  females  also  decidedly  objected  to  taking 
their  turns  at  the  washtub.  The  abundance  of  rat- 
tlesnakes had  influence,  and  one  day  a  venturesome 
colonist  brought  in  seventeen  large  rattlers,  causing 
dire  consternation.  They  tanned  the  skin  of  one 
big  fellow,  and  made  it  into  a  pair  of  slippers,  which 
were  presented  to  Mr.  Greeley  on  his  next  visit.  As 
is  usually  the  case,  the  colonists  had  ravenous  appe- 
tites, and  it  was  impossible  to  raise  enough  food 
crops  to  feed  them,  so  that  food  had  to  be  bought, 
and  the  capital  was  thus  seriously  drawn  upon.  In 
1845  they  had  a  prospect  of  a  generous  yield  at  the 
harvest,  when  suddenly,  on  July  4th,  a  deadly  frost 
killed  all  their  crops ;  and  this  ended  the  experi- 
mental colony.     In  two  days  everybody  had  left  the 


ASCENDING  THE  LACKA WAXEN.  265 

place,  and  Greeley  was  almost  heartbroken  at  the 
failure  of  his  cherished  plans.  A  mortgage  on  the 
farm  was  foreclosed  and  the  land  sold  to  strangers. 
A  Monroe  County  farmer,  who  had  invested  $1800 
in  the  enterprise  and  lost  it,  became  so  angry  at  the 
collapse  that  he  went  to  New  York,  as  he  said,  "  to 
give  Horace  Greeley  a  Monroe  County  Democrat's 
opinion  of  him."  He  found  the  great  editor  at  work 
in  the  Tribune  office,  and  began  berating  him.  Gree- 
ley, as  soon  as  a  chance  was  given,  asked  his  visitor 
how  much  he  had  lost  by  the  failure.  He  replied, 
u  Eighteen  hundred  dollars ;"  when,  without  further 
parley,  Greeley  drew  a  check  for  the  amount  and 
handed  it  to  him.  The  farmer  was  so  astonished  and 
impressed  by  this  most  unexpected  action  that  he  im- 
mediately became,  as  he  afterwards  stated,  "  a  Gree- 
ley Whig,"  and  remained  one  all  his  life. 

ASCENDING   THE   LACKAWAXEN. 

At  Glen  Eyre,  the  Blooming  Grove  Creek  flows 
merrily  into  the  Lackawaxen,  coming  out  from  Bloom- 
ing Grove  Township  to  the  southward,  an  elevated 
wooded  plateau  in  the  interior  of  Pike,  which  is  the 
common  heading  ground,  for  numerous  streams  radi- 
ating in  every  direction,  and  containing  a  score  of 
attractive  lakes.  This  region  is  a  wilderness  where 
deer,  bears  and  other  wild  animals  roam,  while  the 
streams  are  noted  angling  resorts.  In  it  are  the  two 
famous  "  Knobs,"  the  highest  elevations  of  the  whole 


266     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

Pocono  range,  the  southern  or  "  High  Knob  "  rising 
two  thousand  and  ten  feet,  out-topping  the  Kittatinny 
"  High  Point."  This  *  Knob  "  stands  like  a  pyramid, 
at  least  five  hundred  feet  above  all  the  surrounding 
country,  excepting  its  neighbor,  the  "  North  Knob," 
wKich  is  only  one  hundred  feet  lower.  These  are  the 
northeastern  outposts  of  the  Pocono  range.  Upon 
the  top  of  the  "  High  Knob  "  is  a  large  boulder  of 
white  conglomerate,  dropped  by  the  ice  in  the  glacial 
period,  and  this  summit  gives  the  most  extensive 
view  in  Pennsylvania,  over  dark,  fir-covered  ridges 
in  every  direction,  interspersed  with  lakelets  glisten- 
ing in  the  sunlight.  There  is  not  a  house  to  be  seen, 
and  scarcely  a  clearing,  but  all  around  is  one  vast 
wilderness.  The  greater  part  of  this  region  is  the 
estate  of  the  "  Blooming  Grove  Park  Association," 
covering  thirteen  thousand  acres,  surrounded  by  a 
high  fence,  and  stocked  with  game  and  fish,  there 
being  over  $300,000  invested  in  the  enterprise. 
Here  elk  and  deer  are  bred,  there  are  abundant  hares 
and  rabbits,  and  also  woodcock,  grouse  and  snipe 
shooting.  The  spacious  club-house  is  elevated  high 
above  the  rocky  shores  of  Lake  Giles,  a  most  beau- 
tiful circular  sheet  of  clear  spring  water,  fourteen 
hundred  feet  above  tide,  and  to  it  the  anglers  and 
hunters  take  their  families  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
the  virgin  woods. 

The   Wallenpaupack   Creek,  coming   out  of  the 
Pocono  plateau  and  the  Moosic  Mountain,  makes  the 


ASCENDING  THE  LACKAWAXEN.  267 

boundary  between  Pike  and  Wayne  Counties,  and 
flows  into  the  Lackawaxen  at  Hawley.  For  most  of 
the  distance  its  course  is  deep  and  sluggish,  but  ap- 
proaching the  edge  of  the  terrace,  within  a  couple  of 
miles  of  the  Lackawaxen,  it  tumbles  over  cataracts 
and  down  rapids  through  a  magnificent  gorge,  so 
that,  from  its  alternating  characteristics,  the  Indians 
rightly  called  it  the  Walink-papeek,  or  "the  slow  and 
swift  water."  It  descends  a  cascade  of  seventy  feet, 
and  then  goes  down  the  Sliding  Fall,  a  series  of  rapids 
interspersed  with  several  small  cataracts.  Farther 
down  are  two  cascades  of  thirty  feet  each,  and  then 
the  main  plunge,  the  Paupack  falls  of  sixty-one  feet, 
almost  at  its  mouth,  the  whole  descent  being  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Hawley  has  thriving 
mills,  whose  wheels  are  turned  by  this  admirable 
water-power,  and  it  is  also  a  railway  centre  for  coal 
shipping.  Its  people  are  noted  makers  of  silks,  and  of 
cut  and  decorated  glassware.  Judge  James  Wilson, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, was  an  early  settler  on  the  Wallenpaupack. 

Above  Hawley,  in  a  broadened  intervale  of  the 
Lackawaxen,  was  the  famous  "  Indian  Orchard," 
where  the  first  settlement,  made  in  1760,  grew  after- 
wards into  Honesdale,  now  the  county-seat  of  Wayne. 
This  was  a  tract  of  land  in  the  valley  upon  which  the 
lofty  Irving  Cliff  looks  down  j  and  it  was  named  from 
a  row  of  one  hundred  apple  trees  which  the  Indians 
had  planted  at  regular  intervals  along  the  river  bank. 


268     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

The  tradition  was  that  ninety-nine  trees  bore  sweet 
fruit,  while  one  every  alternate  year  had  a  crop  of  sour 
apples.  Upon  a  large  clearing  at  the  water's  edge, 
paved  with  flat  stones,  the  Indians  held  their  feasts 
and  performed  their  religious  rites.  The  orchard 
and  stones  have  disappeared,  but  the  plow  still  turns 
up  Indian  relics.  This  place  was  selected  by  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Company  for  the  head  of  their 
now  abandoned  canal,  at  the  base  of  the  Moosic 
Mountain,  and  it  was  named  Honesdale,  in  honor  of 
the  first  president  of  the  canal  company,  Philip  Hone, 
described  as  "  the  courtliest  Mayor  New  York  ever 
saw."  Within  the  town  the  two  pretty  streams  unite 
which  form  the  Lackawaxen,  making  lakelets  on  the 
plain,  and  from  the  shore  of  one  of  these  the  rocks 
rise  almost  perpendicularly  nearly  four  hundred  feet. 
In  1841  Washington  Irving  came  here  with  some 
friends,  making  the  journey  on  the  canal,  and  climbed 
these  rocks  to  overlook  the  lovely  intervale,  and  thus 
the  Irving  Cliff  was  named.  Writing  of  his  visit,  he 
spoke  in  wonder  of  the  beautiful  scenery  and  roman- 
tic route  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  saying : 
u  For  many  miles  it  is  built  up  along  the  face  of  per- 
pendicular precipices,  rising  into  stupendous  cliffs, 
with  overhanging  forests,  or  jutting  out  into  vast 
promontories,  while  upon  the  other  side  you  look 
down  upon  the  Delaware,  foaming  and  roaring  below 
you,  at  the  foot  of  an  immense  wall  or  embankment 
which  supports  the  canal.     Altogether,  it  is  one  of 


ASCENDING  THE  LACKAWAXEN.  269 

the  most  daring  undertakings  I  have  ever  witnessed, 
to  carry  an  artificial  river  over  rocky  mountains,  and 
up  the  most  savage  and  almost  impracticable  defiles. 
For  upward  of  ninety  miles  I  went  through  a  con- 
stant succession  of  scenery  that  would  have  been 
famous  had  it  existed  in  any  part  of  Europe." 

From  Honesdale  a  gravity  railroad  crosses  the 
Moosic  Mountain  into  the  Lackawanna  Valley  at  Car- 
bondale.  This  was  originally  used  to  bring  the  coal 
out  for  the  canal,  but  has  been  abandoned  for  this 
purpose,  being  now  confined  to  passenger  service.  It 
has  twenty-eight  inclined  planes,  and  crosses  the  sum- 
mit at  Far  View,  at  an  elevation  of  nearly  two  thou- 
sand feet.  The  first  locomotive  brought  to  America, 
built  at  Stourbridge,  England,  in  1828,  the  "  Stour- 
bridge Lion,"  was  used  on  the  levels  of  this  railroad, 
the  face  of  a  lion  adorning  the  front  of  the  boiler 
giving  it  the  name.  When  brought  out  in  1829  the 
triumphant  claim  was  made  that  it  "  would  run  four 
miles  an  hour."  The  road  passes  over  extended 
mountain  tops,  giving  far-seeing  views ;  and  among 
these  sombre  rounded  ridges  in  the  wilderness  of 
Wayne  are  the  sources  of  the  Lackawaxen.  Car- 
bondale,  built  on  the  coal  measures  of  the  upper 
Lackawanna  Valley,  has  about  eighteen  thousand 
population  j  but  all  its  coal  now  goes  to  market  by 
other  railway  routes,  the  gravity  road  and  the  canal 
being  found  too  expensive  carriers  in  the  fierce  com- 
petition of  the  anthracite  industry. 


270     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE   HEADWATEES  OP   THE   DELAWARE. 

The  Delaware,  above  the  Lackawaxen,  flows  be- 
tween massive  cliffs  in  a  deeply-cut  gorge  through 
the  flagstones.  At  Mast  Hope,  years  ago,  was  got  the 
biggest  pine  tree  ever  cut  on  the  Delaware  for  a  ves- 
sel's mast.  The  "  Forest  Lake  Association,"  another 
hunting-  and  fishing-club  near  here,  has  an  extensive 
estate  covering  the  high  ridge  between  the  Delaware 
and  the  Lackawaxen.  At  Big  Eddy  the  river  makes 
a  sort  of  lake  two  miles  long,  of  pure  spring  water, 
the  widest  and  deepest  part  of  the  Delaware  beyond 
tidewater.  Stupendous  cliffs  contract  the  river  above 
at  the  Narrows,  where  the  village  of  Narrowsburg  is 
built,  and  this  region  and  the  neighboring  lake-strewn 
highlands  of  Sullivan  County,  New  York,  were  the 
chief  scenes  of  Cooper's  novel,  The  Last  of  the  Mo- 
hicans. As  we  advance  through  its  upper  canyon, 
the  Delaware  grows  gradually  smaller,  but  the  en- 
closing ridges  recede  and  leave  a  broad  and  fertile 
valley.  Here  are  the  villages  of  Damascus  and  Co- 
checton,  connected  by  a  bridge,  and  having  together 
probably  a  thousand  inhabitants.  The  original  In- 
dian village  was  Cushatunk,  meaning  the  u  lowlands," 
and  from  this  Cochecton  is  derived.  It  was  the  sad 
scene  of  various  Indian  forays  and  massacres  before 
and  during  the  Revolution.  For  many  years  lumber- 
ing and  tanning  were  great  industries  in  this  region, 
but  they  have  almost  entirely  passed  away. 


THE  HEADWATERS  OF  THE  DELAWARE.      271 

We  are  coming  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Delaware. 
At  Hancock,  elevated  about  nine  hundred  feet  above 
tide,  the  Delaware  divides.  The  Popacton,  or  east 
branch,  comes  in,  the  Mohock,  or  western  branch, 
however,  being  the  larger  stream,  and  making  the 
boundary  between  Pennsylvania  and  New  York 
above  their  junction.  These  two  branches,  after 
flowing  nearly  parallel  for  a  long  distance  across 
Delaware  County,  New  York,  separated  by  a  broad 
mountain  ridge  about  eleven  miles  wide,  unite  around 
the  base  of  a  great  dome-like  hill  at  Hancock,  the 
spot  having  been  appropriately  named  by  the  Indians 
Sho-ka-kin,  or  u  where  the  waters  meet."  Thirteen 
miles  above  is  Deposit,  at  the  New  York  boundary, 
where  Oquaga  Creek  comes  down  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  westward.  This  was  formerly  an  im- 
portant "  place  of  deposit "  for  lumber,  awaiting  the 
spring  freshets  to  be  sent  down  the  Delaware,  and 
hence  its  name.  High  hills  surround  Deposit,  the 
river  makes  a  grand  sweeping  bend,  and  nearby  is 
the  beautiful  mountain  lake  of  Oquaga,  of  which  Tay- 
lor writes :  u  If  there  is  a  more  restful  place  than 
this,  outside  *  God's  acres/  I  have  failed  to  find  it  f 
adding,  "  The  mountain  road  to  the  lake  is  pictur- 
esque enough  to  lead  to  Paradise."  The  headwaters 
of  the  Delaware  rise  upon  the  western  slopes  of  the 
Catskill  Mountains  in  Delaware  and  Schoharie  Coun- 
ties, New  York.  The  source  is  about  two  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  almost  directly  north  of  Philadel- 


272     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

phia.  In  a  depression  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
Catskill  range,  at  an  elevation  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  feet  above  tidewater,  is  the  head  of 
the  Delaware,  Lake  Utsyanthia,  a  secluded  little  sheet 
of  the  purest  and  most  transparent  spring  water.  It 
is  also  called  Ote-se-on-teo,  meaning  the  u  beautiful 
spring,  cold  and  pure0"  It  is  a  mirror  of  beauty  in 
a  wooded  wilderness,  its  surroundings  being  most 
wild  and  picturesque.  From  this  little  lakelet  flows 
out  the  Mohock,  winding  down  its  romantic  valley, 
and  receiving  many  brooks  and  rills,  passing  a  vil- 
lage or  two,  and  bubbling  along  for  forty  miles  to  De- 
posit, and  thence  onward  as  the  great  river  Delaware 
to  the  ocean.     Thus  Tennyson  sings  of  the  Brook : 

"  I  chatter,  chatter,  as  I  flow 
To  join  the  brimming  river, 
For  man  may  come,  and  man  may  go, 
But  I  go  on  forever." 


CROSSING  THE  ALLEGHENIES. 


IV. 

CROSSING  THE  ALLEGHENIES. 

The  Old  Pike—The  National  Road — Early  Routes  Across  the 
Mountains — Old  Lancaster  Road — Columbia  Railroad — The 
Pennsylvania  Route — Haverford  College — Villa  Nova — Bryn 
Mawr  College — Paoli — General  Wayne — The  Chester  Val- 
ley— Pequea  Valley — The  Conestogas — Lancaster — Franklin 
and  Marshall  College— James  Buchanan — Thaddeus  Stevens 
> — Conewago  Hills — Susquehanna  River — Columbia — The  Un- 
derground Railroad — Middletown — Lochiel — Simon  Came- 
ron— The  Clan  Cameron — Harrisburg — Charles  Dickens  and 
the  Camel's  Back  Bridge— John  Harris— Lincoln's  Midnight 
Ride — Cumberland  Valley— Carlisle — Indian  School — Dick- 
inson College— The  Whisky  Insurrection — Tom  the  Tinker 
— Lebanon  Valley— Cornwall  Ore  Banks — Otsego  Lake — Coo- 
perstown  —  James  Fenimore  Cooper  —  Richfield  Springs — 
Cherry  Valley — Sharon  Springs — Howe's  Cave — Bingham  ton 
— Northumberland — Williamsport — Sunbury— Fort  Augusta 
— The  Dauphin  Gap — Dun  cannon— Duncan's  Island — Ju- 
niata River — Tuscarora  Gap — The  Grasshopper  War — Mifflin 
—  Lewistown  Narrows  —  Kishicoquillas  Valley  —  Logan  — 
Jack's  Narrows— Huntingdon — The  Standing  Stone — Bed- 
ford—Morrison's Cove — The  Sinking  Spring — Brainerd,  the 
Missionary— Tyrone — Bellefonte — Altoona — Hollidaysburg — 
The  Portage  Railroad— Blair's  Gap— The  Horse  Shoe— Kit- 
tanning  Point — Thomas  Blair  and  Michael  Maguire — Loretto 
— Prince  Gallitzin— Ebensburg— Cresson  Springs — The  Con- 
emaugh  River— South  Fork— Johnstown — The  Great  Flood 
— Laurel  Ridge — Packsaddle  Narrows — Chestnut  Ridge — 
Kiskiminetas  River— Loyalh anna  Creek — Fort  Ligonier — 
Great  Bear  Cave— Hannastown — General  Arthur  St.  Clair — 
Greensburg — Braddock's  Defeat — Pittsburg,  the  Iron  City— 
Monongahela  River— Allegheny  River— Ohio   River— Fort 

(275) 


276     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Duquesne — Fort  Pitt— View  from  Mount  Washington — Pitts- 
burg Buildings — Great  Factories — Andrew  Carnegie — George 
Westinghouse,  Jr. — Allegheny  Park  and  Monument — Coal 
and  Coke — Davis  Island  Dam — Youghiogheny  River — Con- 
nellsville — Natural  Gas — Murrysville — Petroleum — Canons- 
burg — Washington — Petroleum  Development — Kittanning — 
Modoc  Oil  District— Fort  Venango — Oil  City — Pithole  City 
— Oil  Creek — Titusville — Corry — Decadence  of  Oil-Fields. 

THE    OLD   PIKE. 

The  American  aspiration  has  always  been  to  go 
westward.  In  the  early  history  of  the  Republic  the 
Government  gave  great  attention  to  the  means  of 
reaching  the  Western  frontier,  then  cut  off  by  what 
was  regarded  as  the  almost  insurmountable  barrier  of 
the  Alleghenies.  General  Washington  was  the  first 
to  project  a  chain  of  internal  improvements  across 
the  mountains,  by  the  route  of  the  Potomac  to  Cum- 
berland, then  a  Maryland  frontier  fort,  and  thence  by 
roads  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio.  The  initial 
enactment  was  procured  by  him  from  the  Virginia 
Legislature  in  1774,  for  improving  the  navigation  of 
the  Potomac j  but  the  Revolutionary  War  interfered, 
and  he  renewed  the  movement  afterwards  in  1784, 
resulting  in  the  charter  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal,  of  which  Washington  was  the  first  President. 
Little  was  done  at  that  early  period,  however,  in 
building  the  canal,  but  the  Government  constructed 
the  famous  "  National  Road,"  the  first  highway  over 
the  Allegheny  Mountains,  from  Cumberland  in  Mary^ 
land,  mainly  through  Southwestern  Pennsylvania,  to 


THE  OLD  PIKE.  277 

Wheeling  on  the  Ohio.  This  noted  highway  was 
finished  and  used  throughout  in  1818,  and,  until  the 
railways  crossed  the  mountains,  it  was  the  great  route 
of  travel  to  the  West.  It  was  familiarly  known  as 
the  "  Old  Pike,"  and  Thomas  B.  Searight  has  enter- 
tainingly recorded  its  pleasant  memories,  for  it  has 
now  become  mainly  a  relic  of  the  past : 

"  We  hear  no  more  of  the  clanging  hoof, 
And  the  stage-coach,  rattling  by  ; 
For  the  steam  king  rules  the  travelled  world, 
And  the  Old  Pike's  left  to  die." 

He  tells  of  the  long  lines  of  Conestoga  wagons, 
each  drawn  by  six  heavy  horses,  their  broad  wheels, 
canvas-covered  tops  and  huge  cargoes  of  goods  j  of 
the  swaying,  rushing  mail  passenger  coach,  the  fleet- 
footed  pony  express ;  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds 
of  cattle,  the  droves  of  horses  and  mules  sent  East 
from  the  "  blue-grass  ?  farms  of  Kentucky  j  and  oc- 
casionally of  a  long  line  of  men  and  women,  tied  two 
and  two  to  a  rope,  driven  by  a  slave-master  from  the 
South,  to  be  sold  in  the  newer  region  of  the  South- 
west. He  describes  how  the  famous  driver,  Sam 
Sibley,  brings  up  his  grand  coach  at  the  hotel  in 
Uniontown  with  the  great  Henry  Clay  as  chief  pas- 
senger, and  then  after  dinner  whirls  away  with  a 
rush,  but  unfortunately,  dashing  over  a  pile  of  stone 
in  the  road,  the  coach  upsets.  Out  crawls  the  driver 
with  a  broken  nose,  and  a  crowd  hastens  to  rescue 


278     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

Mr.  Clay  from  the  upturned  coach.  He  is  unhurt, 
and  brushing  the  dust  from  his  clothes  says  :  "  This 
is  mixing  the  Clay  of  Kentucky  with  the  limestone 
of  Pennsylvania."  Many  are  the  tales  of  the  famous 
road.  One  veteran  teamster  relates  his  experience 
of  a  night  at  the  tavern  on  the  mountain  side — thirty 
six-horse  teams  were  in  the  wagon-yard,  one  hundred 
mules  in  an  adjoining  lot,  a  thousand  hogs  in  another, 
as  many  fat  cattle  from  the  West  in  a  field,  and  the 
tavern  crowded  with  teamsters  and  drovers — the 
grunts  of  the  hogs,  the  braying  of  the  mules,  the 
bellowing  of  the  cattle  and  the  crunching  and  stamp- 
ing of  the  horses,  "made  music  beyond  a  dream." 
In  1846  the  message  arrived  at  Cumberland  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  that  war  was  declared  against 
Mexico,  and  a  noted  driver  took  the  news  over  the 
mountains,  past  a  hundred  taverns  and  a  score  of  vil- 
lages, one  hundred  and  thirty-one  miles  to  Wheeling, 
in  twelve  hours.  Over  this  famous  road  the  Indian 
chief  Black  Hawk  was  brought,  but  the  harness 
broke,  the  team  ran  away  and  the  coach  was  smashed. 
Black  Hawk  crept  out  of  the  wreck,  stood  up  sur- 
prised, and,  wiping  a  drop  of  blood  from  his  brow, 
earnestly  muttered,  "  Ugh  !  Ugh  !  Ugh  !"  Barnum 
brought  Jenny  Lind  over  this  road  from  Wheeling, 
paying  $17.25  fare  apiece  to  Baltimore.  Lafayette 
came  along  it  in  1825,  the  population  all  turning  out 
to  cheer  him.  Andrew  Jackson  came  over  it  four 
years  later  to  be  inaugurated  the  first  Western  Presi- 


THE  OLD  PIKE.  279 

dent,  and  subsequently  also  came  Presidents  Harri- 
son, Polk  and  Taylor.  What  was  thought  of  the 
"  Old  Pike  "  in  its  day  of  active  service  was  well  ex- 
pressed at  a  reception  to  John  Quincy  Adams.  Re- 
turning from  the  West,  he  arrived  at  Uniontown  in 
May,  1837,  and  was  warmly  welcomed.  Hon.  Hugh 
Campbell,  who  made  the  reception  address,  said  to  the 
ex-President :  "  We  stand  here,  sir,  upon  the  Cum- 
berland Road,  which  has  broken  down  the  great  wall 
of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  This  road,  we  trust, 
constitutes  an  indissoluble  chain  of  Union,  connect- 
ing forever,  as  one,  the  East  and  the  West." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Lan- 
caster in  Pennsylvania  was  the  largest  inland  city  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  sixty -nine  miles  from  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  "old  Lancaster  Road,"  the  finest 
highway  of  that  period,  was  constructed  to  connect 
them.  This  began  the  Pennsylvania  route  across  the 
Alleghenies  to  the  West,  which  afterwards  became 
the  most  travelled.  In  1834  the  Pennsylvania  Gov- 
ernment opened  its  State  work,  the  Columbia  Rail- 
road between  the  Delaware  and  the  Susquehanna. 
In  1836  there  were  four  daily  lines  of  stages  running 
in  connection  with  this  State  railroad  between  Phila- 
delphia and  Pittsburg,  making  the  journey  in  sixty 
hours.  Gradually  afterwards  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road was  extended  across  the  mountains,  and  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  was  completed  to 
Wheeling,  and  they  then  took   away  the  business 


280     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

from  the  "  Old  Pike  "  and  all  the  other  wagon  or 
canal  routes  to  the  Ohio  River. 


CHESTER  AND  LANCASTER  VALLEYS. 

Let  us  go  westward  across  the  Alleghenies  by  the 
Pennsylvania  route.  East  of  the  mountains  it  tra- 
verses a  rich  agricultural  region,  limestone  valleys, 
intersected  by  running  streams  and  enclosed  between 
parallel  ridges  of  hills,  stretching,  like  the  mountain 
ranges,  across  the  country  from  northeast  to  south- 
west. It  is  a  land  of  prolific  farms  and  dairies,  and 
for  miles  beyond  Philadelphia  the  line  is  adjoined  by 
attractive  villages  and  many  beautiful  suburban 
villas.  Three  noted  institutions  of  learning  are 
passed — Haverford  College,  the  great  Quaker  Col- 
lege, standing  in  an  extensive  wooded  park;  the 
Roman  Catholic  Augustinian  College  at  Villa  Nova, 
with  its  cross-surmounted  dome  and  twin  church 
spires ;  and  the  Bryn  Mawr  College  for  women,  one 
of  the  most  famous  in  the  United  States.  This  is  a 
region  first  settled  by  Welsh  Quakers,  and  the  name 
Bryn  Mawr  is  Welsh  for  the  "  great  hill."  It  is  a 
wealthy  and  extensive  settlement,  and  its  College  has 
spacious  buildings  and  over  three  hundred  students. 
At  the  Commencements  they  all  join  in  singing  their 
impressive  College  hymn  : 

"  Thou  Gracious  Inspiration,  our  guiding  star, 
Mistress  and  Mother,  all  hail  Bryn  Mawr, 
Goddess  of  wisdom,  thy  torch  divine 


CHESTER  AND  LANCASTER  VALLEYS.        281 

Doth  beacon  thy  votaries  to  thy  shrine, 
And  we,  thy  daughters,  would  thy  vestals  be, 
Thy  torch  to  consecrate  eternally." 

A  few  miles  beyond  is  Paoli,  preserving  in  its  name 
the  memory  of  the  Corsican  patriot  Paoli,  and  the 
birthplace  of  the  Revolutionary  General  u  Mad  An- 
thony" Wayne.  Here  the  British  defeated  the 
American  patriots  in  September,  1777.  It  stands  on 
the  verge  of  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, the  Chester  Valley,  a  charming  region  of  broad 
and  smiling  acres,  bounded  on  the  northwest  by  the 
Welsh  Mountain  and  Mine  Hill,  and  a  veritable  land 
of  plenty.  The  Brandy  wine  and  Valley  Creeks 
water  it,  flowing  out  respectively  to  the  Delaware 
and  the  Schuylkill.  Beyond  the  long  ridge  of  Mine 
Hill  is  Lancaster  County,  another  land  of  rich  farms, 
with  many  miles  of  grain  and  tobacco  fields.  Mine 
Hill  is  the  watershed  between  the  Delaware  and  the 
Susquehanna,  the  fertile  Pequea  Valley  being  at  its 
western  base.  This  is  a  great  wheat  country,  and 
from  here  was  sent  the  first  American  grain  across 
the  Atlantic  to  feed  Europe,  the  Lancaster  County 
wheat,  in  the  days  before  the  railroads  brought  it 
from  the  West,  ruling  prices  for  the  American  mar- 
kets. It  was  hauled  out  in  the  ponderous  Conestoga 
wagons,  named  after  the  Indian  tribe  which  formerly 
ruled  this  region — their  name  signifying  "  the  great 
magic  land."  They  were  a  quarrelsome  people, 
fighting   all  the    neighboring  tribes,   and  becoming 


282     AMEBICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

deadly  foes  of  the  whites.  Repeated  wars  decimated 
them,  until  in  1763  their  last  remnant,  being  hunted 
almost  to  death,  took  refuge  in  the  ancient  jail  at 
Lancaster,  and  were  cruelly  massacred  by  the  gueril- 
las called  the  u  Paxton  Boys." 

In  the  midst  of  the  wheat  lands  and  bordering  the 
broad  Conestoga  Creek,  flowing  down  to  the  Susque- 
hanna at  Safe  Harbor,  is  the  city  of  Lancaster,  its 
red  sandstone  castellated  jail  being  a  conspicuous  ob- 
ject in  the  view.  This  city  was  originally  called 
Hickory  Town,  but  in  the  eighteenth  century  its 
loyal  people  christened  it  Lancaster,  and  named  the 
chief  streets,  intersecting  at  the  Central  Market 
Square,  King  and  Queen  Streets,  with  Duke  Street 
parallel  to  the  latter.  Prior  to  1812  it  was  the  capital 
of  Pennsylvania.  Lancaster  is  an  attractive  and 
comfortable  old  city  of  thirty-five  thousand  popula- 
tion, with  many  mills  and  factories  and  large  tobacco 
houses.  It  has  a  splendid  Soldiers'  Monument  in  the 
Central  Square,  with  finely  sculptured  guards,  repre- 
senting each  branch  of  the  service,  watching  at  the 
base  of  the  magnificent  shaft.  Upon  the  outskirts 
are  the  ornate  buildings  of  Franklin  and  Marshall 
College,  a  foundation  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church,  and  it  also  has  a  Theological  Seminary.  The 
charm  of  Lancaster,  however,  is  Woodward  Hill 
Cemetery,  on  a  bold  bluff,  washed  by  the  Conestoga 
Creek,  which  forms  a  graceful  circle  around  its  base. 
Upon  the  surface  and  sides  of  the  bluff  the  graves 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  EIVEE.  283 

are  terraced.  Here  is  the  tomb  of  James  Buchanan, 
the  only  President  sent  from  Pennsylvania,  who  died 
in  1868,  at  his  home  of  Wheatland  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  town.  Another  noted  citizen  of  Lancaster 
was  Thaddeus  Stevens,  who  long  represented  it  in 
Congress,  and  was  the  Republican  leader  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
afterwards  until  his  death  in  1868.  He  was  the 
great  champion  of  the  emancipation  of  the  negro 
race,  and  refused  to  be  buried  in  the  cemetery  be- 
cause negroes  were  excluded.  Upon  the  grave  which 
he  selected  in  Lancaster  are  these  words  :  "  I  repose 
in  this  quiet  and  secluded  spot,  not  from  any  natural 
preference  for  solitude,  but  finding  other  cemeteries 
limited  by  charter  rules  as  to  race.  I  have  chosen  it 
that  I  might  be  enabled  to  illustrate  in  death  the 
principle  which  I  have  advocated  through  a  long  life 
— equality  of  man  before  his  Creator."  When  Lan- 
caster was  the  chief  town  of  the  Colonial  frontier  in 
1753,  it  was  the  place  where  Braddock's  unfortunate 
expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne  at  Pittsburg  was 
organized  and  equipped,  the  work  being  mainly  di- 
rected by  Benjamin  Franklin.  Robert  Fulton  was 
born  in  Lancaster  County,  and  he  grew  up  and  was 
educated  at  Lancaster,  going  afterwards  to  Philadel- 
phia. 

THE    SUSQUEHANNA   RIVER. 

The  line  westward   from    Lancaster   crosses  one 
long  ridge-like  hill  after  another  stretching  broadly 

Vol.  1—13 


284     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

over  the  country,  and  finally  comes  to  the  out- 
lying ridge  of  the  Allegheny  range,  the  South  Moun- 
tain, beyond  which  is  the  great  Appalachian  Valley. 
One  railroad  route  boldly  crosses  this  mountain 
through  the  depressions  in  the  Conewago  hills,  where 
the  picturesque  Conewago  Creek,  the  Indian  "long 
reach,"  flows  down  its  beautiful  gorge  to  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  this  railroad  finally  comes  out  on  that 
river  at  Middletown  below  Harrisburg ;  the  other 
route  follows  a  more  easy  gradient  westward  ten 
miles  to  Columbia,  and  this  is  used  by  the  heavier 
freight  trains.  Coming  towards  it  over  the  hills,  the 
wide  Susquehanna  lies  low  in  its  broad  valley,  en- 
closed by  the  distant  ridge  of  the  Kittatinny  bound- 
ing Cumberland  County  beyond  the  river.  As  it  is 
approached,  the  thought  is  uppermost  that  this  is  one 
of  the  noblest,  and  yet  among  the  meanest  rivers  in 
the  country.  Rising  in  Otsego  Lake  in  New  York, 
it  flows  over  four  hundred  miles  down  to  Chesapeake 
Bay,  receives  large  tributaries,  its  West  Branch 
being  two  hundred  miles  long,  rends  all  the  Alle- 
gheny Mountain  chains,  and  takes  a  great  part  of 
the  drainage  of  that  region  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania, passes  through  grand  valleys,  noble  gorges 
and  most  magnificent  scenery,  and  yet  it  is  so  thickly 
sown  with  islands,  rocks  and  sand-bars,  rapids  and 
shallows,  as  to  defy  all  attempts  to  make  it  satisfac- 
torily navigable  excepting  by  lumber  rafts,  logs  and 
a  few  canal  boats.     Thus  the  Indians  significantly 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  EIVEB.  285 

gave  its  name  meaning  the  island-strewn,  broad  and 
shallow  river,  and  it  is  little  more  than  a  gigantic 
drain  for  Central  Pennsylvania. 

On  its  bank  is  Columbia,  a  town  of  busy  iron  and 
steel  manufacture,  as  the  whole  range  of  towns  are 
for  miles  up  to  and  beyond  Harrisburg.  At  Colum- 
bia first  appeared,  about  1804,  that  mysterious  agency 
known  as  the  "Underground  Railroad,"  whereby 
fugitive  slaves  were  secretly  passed  from  one  "  sta- 
tion "  to  another  from  "  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line " 
to  Canada,  mainly  through  the  aid  and  active  exer- 
tions of  philanthropic  Quakers.  All  through  Chester 
and  Lancaster  Counties  and  northward  were  laid  the 
routes  of  this  peculiar  line,  whose  ramifications  be- 
came more  and  more  extensive  as  time  passed, 
making  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  almost  a  nullity 
during  the  decade  before  the  Civil  War.  There  were 
hundreds  of  good  people  engaged  in  facilitating  the 
unfortunate  travellers  who  fled  for  freedom,  and 
many  have  been  the  escapades  with  the  slave- 
hunters,  whose  traffic  long  ago  happily  ended.  At 
Middletown  the  Swatara  River  flows  in  from  the  hills 
of  Lebanon  County,  there  being  all  along  the  Sus- 
quehanna a  prodigious  development  of  the  steel  in- 
dustry as  well  as  rich  farms  on  the  fertile  bottom 
lands.  Here  is  the  historic  estate  of  Lochiel,  which 
was  the  home  of  Simon  Cameron,  who  for  many 
years  ruled  the  political  destinies  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  born  in  1799  at  May  town,  near  Marietta,  ou 


286     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  Susquehanna,  a  few  miles  above  Columbia,  in 
humble  circumstances,  and  came  as  a  poor  printer's 
boy  to  Harrisburg,  rose  to  wealth  and  power,  and 
when  he  was  full  of  years  and  honors  placed  the 
mantle .  of  the  United  States  Senatorship  upon  his 
son.  Their  "  Clan  Cameron  "  which  ruled  Pennsyl- 
vania for  two  generations  has  been  regarded  as  the 
best  managed  political  "machine"  in  the  Union, 
having  in  its  ranks  and  among  its  allies  not  only  poli- 
ticians, but  bankers,  railway  managers,  merchants, 
manufacturers  and  capitalists,  and  men  in  every  walk 
of  life,  ramifying  throughout  the  Keystone  State. 

Harrisburg,  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania,  stands 
upon  the  sloping  eastern  bank  of  the  river  in  the 
grandest  scenery.  Just  above,  the  Susquehanna 
breaks  through  the  Kittatinny  at  the  Dauphin  Gap, 
giving  a  superb  display  of  the  rending  asunder  of 
the  towering  mountain  chain.  Opposite  are  the 
forest-clad  hills  of  York  and  Cumberland  bordering 
the  fertile  Cumberland  Valley  spreading  off  to  the 
southwest,  while  behind  the  city  this  great  Appala- 
chian Valley  continues  between  its  enclosing  ridges 
as  the  Lebanon  Valley  northeast  to  the  Schuylkill 
River  at  Beading.  Market  Street  is  the  chief  Har- 
risburg highway,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  is 
the  back  border  of  the  town.  The  State  Capitol,  set 
on  a  hill,  was  burnt,  and  is  being  rebuilt.  A  pleasant 
park  encloses  the  site,  and  from  the  front  a  wide 
street  leads  down  to  the  river,  making  a  pretty  view, 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  EIVER  287 

with  a  Soldiers'  Monument  in  the  centre,  which  is  an 
enlarged  reproduction  of  Cleopatra's  Needle.  The 
Front  Street  of  the  city,  along  the  river  bank,  is  the 
popular  promenade,  and  is  adorned  with  the  Execu- 
tive Mansion  and  other  fine  residences,  which  have  a 
grand  outlook  across  the  broad  expanse  of  river  and 
islands.  Bridges  cross  over,  among  them  the  old 
"  camel's  back,"  a  mile  long,  and  having  its  shelving 
stone  ice-breakers  jutting  up  stream.  This  is  the 
old  wooden  covered  bridge  that  Charles  Dickens 
wrote  about  in  his  American  Notes.  On  his  first 
American  visit  he  came  into  Harrisburg  from  York 
County  on  a  stage-coach  through  this  bridge,  and  he 
wrote :  u  We  crossed  the  river  by  a  wooden  bridge, 
roofed  and  covered  on  all  sides,  and  nearly  a  mile  in 
length.  It  was  profoundly  dark,  perplexed  with 
great  beams,  crossing  and  re-crossing  it  at  every  pos- 
sible angle,  and  through  the  broad  chinks  and  crev- 
ices in  the  floor  the  river  gleamed  far  down  below, 
like  a  legion  of  eyes.  We  had  no  lamps,  and  as  the 
horses  stumbled  and  floundered  through  this  place 
towards  the  distant  speck  of  dying  light,  it  seemed 
interminable.  I  really  could  not  persuade  myself  at 
first  as  we  rumbled  heavily  on,  filling  the  bridge  with 
hollow  noises — and  I  held  down  my  head  to  save  it 
from  the  rafters — but  that  I  was  in  a  painful  dream, 
and  that  this  could  not  be  reality."  The  old  bridge 
is  much  the  same  to-day  as  when  Dickens  crossed  it. 
Harrisburg  was  named  for  John  Harris,  who  es- 


288     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

tablished  a  ferry  here,  and  alongside  the  river  bank 
is  the  little  "  Harris  Park  n  which  contains  his  grave. 
The  stump  of  the  tree  at  the  foot  of  which  he  was 
buried  is  carefully  preserved.  A  drunken  band  of  Con- 
estoga  Indians  came  this  way  in  1718,  and,  capturing 
the  faithful  ferryman,  tied  him  to  the  tree  to  be  tor- 
tured and  burnt,  when  the  timely  interposition  of 
some  Indians  from  the  opposite  shore,  who  knew  him 
and  were  friendly,  saved  him.  His  son  succeeded 
him  and  ran  the  ferry,  and  an  enclosure  in  the  park 
preserves  this  spot  of  historic  memory. 


It  was  from  Harrisburg  that  Lincoln  took  the 
famous  secret  midnight  ride,  "in  long  cloak  and 
Scotch  cap,"  which  enabled  him  to  escape  attack  and 
possible  assassination  when  going  to  be  inaugurated 
President  in  1861.  Lincoln  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
on  his  way  to  Washington  February  21st,  and  had 
arranged  to  visit  Harrisburg  next  day,  address  the 
Pennsylvania  Legislature,  and  then  proceed  to  Wash- 
ington by  way  of  Baltimore.  In  Philadelphia  Gen- 
eral Scott  and  Senator  Seward  informed  him  that  he 
could  not  pass  through  Baltimore  at  the  time  an- 
nounced without  great  peril,  and  detectives  who  had 
carefully  examined  the  situation  declared  his  life  in 
danger.  Lincoln,  however,  could  not  believe  that 
anyone  would  try  to  assassinate  him  and  made  light 
of  the  matter.     On  the  morning  of  February  22d  he 


LINCOLN'S  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  289 

raised  a  flag  on  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia, 
and  then  went  by  railway  to  Harrisburg.  There  his 
friends  again  urged  him  to  abandon  his  plan  and 
avoid  Baltimore.  ]3e  visited  the  Legislature,  and 
afterwards,  at  his  hotel,  met  the  Governor,  several 
prominent  people  being  present,  among  them  Colonel 
Thomas  A.  Scott,  then  Vice-President  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad.  Again  the  subject  was  discussed, 
and  he  was  urged  to  avoid  the  danger  threatening 
next  day,  being  reminded  that  the  railway  passenger 
coaches  were  drawn  through  the  Baltimore  streets 
by  horses,  thus  increasing  the  chances  of  doing  him 
harm.  He  heard  them  patiently  and  answered, 
"  What  would  the  nation  think  of  its  President  steal- 
ing into  the  Capital  like  a  thief  in  the  night  V9  But 
they  only  the  more  strenuously  insisted,  and  finally 
he  yielded,  consenting  to  do  whatever  they  thought 
best.  Colonel  Scott  undertook  the  task,  and  during 
the  early  evening  quietly  arranged  a  special  train  to 
take  Lincoln  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  would  get 
aboard  the  regular  night  express  and  be  in  Washing- 
ton by  daylight.  Colonel  Ward  H.  Lamon,  a  per- 
sonal friend,  was  selected  to  attend  Lincoln.  As  the 
party  left  the  hotel  a  large  crowd  cheered  them,  and 
the  Governor,  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  the  better  to  con- 
ceal the  intention,  called  out  in  a  loud  voice,  u  Drive 
us  to  the  Executive  Mansion."  This  was  done,  and 
when  they  had  got  away  from  the  crowd  the  carriage 
was   taken   by  a  roundabout   route  to  the  station. 


290     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Lincoln  and  Lamon  were  not  noticed  by  the  few  peo- 
ple there,  and  quietly  entering  the  car,  left  for  Phila- 
delphia. As  soon  as  they  had  started  Scott  cut  every 
telegraph  wire  leading  out  of  Harrisburg,  so  nothing 
could  be  transmitted  excepting  under  his  control, 
Lincoln  got  to  Philadelphia  without  trouble,  was  put 
aboard  the  express  at  midnight,  and  then  at  dawn 
Scott  reunited  his  wires  and  called  up  Washington,  a 
group  of  anxious  men  around  him.  Soon  the  mes- 
sage came  back,  slowly  ticked  out  from  the  instru- 
ment, "Plums  delivered  nuts  safely."  Scott  knew 
what  it  meant ;  he  jumped  to  his  feet,  threw  up  his 
hat  and  shouted,  "  Lincoln's  in  Washington."  The 
Baltimore  plotters  were  thus  foiled,  as  the  new  Presi- 
dent passed  quietly  through  that  city  before  daylight, 
and  several  hours  earlier  than  they  had  expected 
him. 

THE   CUMBERLAND  AND   LEBANON  VALLEYS. 

Harrisburg  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  great  Ap- 
palachian Valley,  where  it  is  bisected  by  the  broad 
Susquehanna.  To  the  southwest  it  stretches  away 
to  the  Potomac  as  the  Cumberland  Valley,  and  to 
the  northeast  it  spreads  across  to  the  Schuylkill  as 
the  fertile  Lebanon  Valley.  The  high  mountain  wall 
of  the  Kittatinny  bounds  it  on  the  northwest,  with 
all  the  rivers,  as  heretofore  described,  breaking  out 
through  various  "  gaps."  In  the  Colonial  days,  when 
Indian  forays  were  frequent,  the  Province  of  Penn- 
sylvania defended  the  entrances  to  this  fertile  valley 


CUMBERLAND  AND  LEBANON  VALLEYS.      291 

by  a  chain  of  frontier  forts  located  at  these  gaps, 
with  attendant  block-houses,  each  post  garrisoned  by 
from  twenty  to  eighty  Provincial  soldiers,  as  its  im- 
portance demanded.  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  was 
then  commissioned  as  a  Colonel,  was  prominent  in 
the  advocacy  of  these  frontier  defences,  and  he  per- 
sonally organized  the  settlers  and  arranged  the  gar- 
risons. Fort  Hyndshaw  began  the  chain  on  the 
Delaware,  there  were  other  forts  on  the  Lehigh  and 
Schuylkill,  and  Fort  Henry  located  on  the  Swatara, 
now  Lebanon,  while  just  above  Harrisburg  was  Fort 
Hunter,  commanding  the  passage  of  the  Susquehanna 
through  the  Dauphin  Gap. 

Over  in  the  Cumberland  Valley,  about  nineteen 
miles  from  Harrisburg,  is  Carlisle,  a  town  of  some 
nine  thousand  people,  in  a  rich  country,  and  the 
chief  settlement  of  that  valley.  Here  is  located  in 
what  were  formerly  the  army  barracks,  coming 
down  from  the  time  when  this  was  a  frontier  post, 
the  Government  Indian  Training  School,  where  about 
eight  hundred  Indian  boys  and  girls  are  instructed, 
being  brought  from  the  far  western  tribes  to  be 
taught  the  arts  and  methods  of  civilization.  These 
Indian  children  are  numerous  in  the  streets  and  on 
the  railway  trains,  with  their  straight  hair,  round 
swarthy  faces  and  high  cheek  bones,  and  show  the 
surprising  influence  of  a  civilizing  education  in 
humanizing  their  features  and  modifying  their  no- 
madic traits.     They  have  quite  a  noted  military  or- 


292     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ganization  and  band  at  the  School.  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, a  foundation  of  the  Methodist  Church,  is  at 
Carlisle,  having  begun  its  work  in  1783,  when  it  was 
named  after  John  Dickinson,  then  the  President  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  took  great  interest  in  it  and  made 
valuable  gifts.  Among  its  graduates  were  President 
James  Buchanan  and  Chief  Justice  Roger  B.  Taney. 
Carlisle  was  President  Washington's  headquarters  in 
1794,  during  the  "  Whisky  Insurrection  "  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania.  After  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment got  fairly  started,  the  Congress  in  1791  im- 
posed a  tax  of  seven  cents  per  gallon  on  whisky. 
This  made  a  great  disturbance  among  the  frontier 
settlers  of  Pennsylvania,  who  were  largely  Scotch- 
Irish,  the  population  west  of  the  Kittatinny  to  the 
Ohio  River  being  then  estimated  at  seventy  thou- 
sand. They  had  no  market  for  their  grain,  but  they 
made  it  into  whisky,  which  found  ready  sale.  A 
horse  could  carry  two  kegs  of  eight  gallons  each  on  the 
bridle  paths  across  the  mountains,  and  it  was  worth  a 
dollar  a  gallon  in  the  east.  Returning,  the  horse- 
back load  was  usually  iron  worth  sixteen  cents  a 
pound,  or  salt  at  five  dollars  a  bushel.  Every  farmer 
had  a  still,  and  the  whisky  thus  became  practically 
the  money  of  the  people  on  account  of  its  purchasing 
value.  Opposition  to  the  tax  began  in  riots.  A 
crowd  of  "  Whisky  boys "  from  Bedford  came  into 
Carlisle  and  burnt  the  Chief  Justice  in  effigy,  setting  up 
a  liberty  pole  with  the  words  "  Liberty  and  No  Excise 


CUMBEELAND  AND  LEBANON  VALLEYS.      293 

on  Whisky."  President  Washington  called  for  troops 
to  enforce  the  law,  and  this  angered  them.  One  John 
Holcroft,  a  ready  writer,  appeared,  and  wrote  sharp  ar- 
ticles against  the  law  and  the  army,  over  the  signature 
of  u  Tom  the  Tinker."  These  were  printed  in  hand- 
bills, and  the  historian  says  u  half  the  trees  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  were  whitened  with  Tom  the 
Tinker's  notices."  Officials  sent  to  collect  the  tax 
were  roughly  treated,  farmers  who  paid  it  were 
beaten  by  masked  men,  and  one  man  who  rented  his 
house  to  a  tax  collector  was  captured  at  midnight  by 
a  crowd  of  disguised  vigilants,  who  carried  him  into 
the  woods,  sheared  his  hair,  tarred,  feathered  and 
tied  him  to  a  tree. 

Soon  there  were  gathered  at  Carlisle  an  army  of 
thirteen  thousand  men  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jer- 
sey, Maryland  and  Virginia,  under  Governor  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia.  President  Washington  and  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  Alexander  Hamilton  came  to 
Carlisle,  and  accompanied  the  troops,  in  October, 
1794,  on  their  march  across  the  mountains  to  Bed- 
ford. The  Governors  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsyl- 
vania led  the  troops  of  their  respective  States,  and 
in  the  army  were  many  Revolutionary  veterans.  As 
they  advanced  they  found  Tom  the  Tinker's  notices 
on  the  trees,  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen : 

"  Brethren,  you  must  not  think  to  frighten  us  with 
fine  arranged  bits  of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery, 
composed  of  your  watermelon  armies  taken  from  the 


294     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Jersey  shores.  They  would  cut  a  much  better  figure 
in  warring  with  crabs  and  oysters  about  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware.  It  is  a  common  thing  for  Indians  to 
fight  your  best  armies  in  the  proportion  of  one  to 
five ;  therefore  we  would  not  hesitate  to  attack  this 
army  at  the  rate  of  one  to  ten." 

The  soldiers  riddled  these  notices  with  bullets  and 
pressed  on,  hunting  for  u  Tom  Tinker's  men/7  as  the 
insurgents  came  to  be  called.  But  they  never  seemed 
able  to  find  them.  All  the  people  seen  told  how  they 
were  forced  by  threats,  and  when  asked  where  the 
persons  were  who  threatened  them,  replied,  "Oh, 
they  have  run  off."  The  army  finally  reached  Pitts- 
burg, the  people  submitted  to  the  law  and  paid  the 
tax,  the  insurrection  was  suppressed,  and  the  army 
returned  and  was  disbanded.  The  whisky  excise 
was  peacefully  collected  afterwards  until  the  tax  was 
repealed. 

In  the  Lebanon  Valley  east  of  Harrisburg  are  im- 
portant iron  furnaces,  and  here  are  the  "  Cornwall 
Ore  Banks,"  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  iron-ore 
deposits  in  the  world — less  rich  than  some  others, 
possibly,  but  having  a  practically  exhaustless  supply 
almost  alongside  these  furnaces.  There  are  three 
hills  of  solid  iron  ore,  one  of  them  having  been 
worked  long  before  the  Revolution,  the  original  fur- 
nace, still  existing,  dating  from  1742.  This  great 
Cornwall  iron  mine  was  bought  in  1737  for  $675, 
including  a  large  tract  of  land.     A  half-century  later 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  HEADWATERS.         295 

$42,500  was  paid  for  a  one-sixth  interest,  and  to-day 
a  one-forty-eighth  interest  is  estimated  worth  up- 
wards of  $500,000;  These  ores  have  some  sulphur 
in  them,  and  are  therefore  baked  in  ovens  to  remove 
it.  They  yield  about  50  per  cent,  of  iron.  A  geol- 
ogist some  time  ago  reported  upon  the  ore  banks  that 
there  were  thirty  millions  of  tons  of  ore  in  sight 
above  the  water-level,  being  over  three  times  the 
amount  taken  out  since  the  workings  began  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  deposits  extend  to  a  depth 
of  several  hundred  feet  under  the  surface,  thus  in- 
definitely multiplying  the  prospective  yield. 

THE   SUSQUEHANNA   HEADWATERS. 

Otsego  Lake,  the  source  of  the  Susquehanna 
River,  is  one  of  the  prettiest  lakes  in  New  York 
State,  and  is  at  an  elevation  of  eleven  hundred 
feet  above  tide.  It  is  nine  miles  long  and  about  a 
mile  wide,  the  Susquehanna  issuing  from  its  southern 
end  at  Cooperstown,  a  hamlet  of  two  thousand 
people,  beautifully  situated  amid  the  high  rolling 
hills  surrounding  the  lake.  The  name  of  the  lake 
comes  from  the  "  Ote-sa-ga  rock "  at  the  outlet,  a 
small,  round-topped,  beehive-shaped  boulder  a  few 
rods  from  the  shore,  just  where  the  lake  condenses 
into  the  river.  This  was  the  Indian  Council  rock,  to 
which  they  came  to  hold  meetings  and  make  treaties, 
and  it  was  well-known  among  the  Iroquois  and  the 
Lenni  Lenapes.     James  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  nov- 


296     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

elist,  who  has  immortalized  all  this  region,  called 
the  lake  the  "  Grlimmerglass."  His  father,  Judge 
William  Cooper,  founded  the  village  of  Coopers- 
town  in  1786,  afterwards  bringing  his  infant  son 
from  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  born  in 
1789.  Here  the  great  American  novelist  lived  until 
his  death  in  1851,  his  grave,  under  a  plain  hori- 
zontal slab,  being  in  the  little  churchyard  of  Christ 
Episcopal  Church.  There  is  a  monument  to  him  in 
Lakewood  Cemetery,  about  a  mile  distant,  sur- 
mounted by  a  statue  of  his  legendary  hunter 
" Leatherstocking,"  who  has  been  described  as  "a 
man  who  had  the  simplicity  of  a  woodsman,  the 
heroism  of  a  savage,  the  faith  of  a  Christian,  and  the 
feeling  of  a  poet."  The  old  Cooper  mansion,  his  home, 
Otsego  Hall,  was  burnt  in  1854,  and  its  site  is  marked 
by  a  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  surrounded  by  a 
railing.  u  Hannah's  Hill,"  named  after  his  daughter, 
and  commanding  a  magnificent  view,  which  he  always 
described  with  rapture,  is  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
lake,  just  out  of  town.  The  charm  of  Cooper's  genius 
and  the  magic  of  his  description  have  given  Otsego 
Lake  a  world-wide  fame.  In  one  place  he  described 
it  as  "  a  broad  sheet  of  water,  so  placid  and  limpid 
that  it  resembled  a  bed  of  the  pure  mountain  atmos- 
phere compressed  into  a  setting  of  hills  and  woods. 
Nothing  is  wanted  but  ruined  castles  and  recollec- 
tions, to  raise  it  to  the  level  of  the  scenery  of  the 
Rhine."     And  thus  has  the  poet  sung  of  it : 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  HEADWATEKS.         297 

"O  Haunted  Lake,  from  out  whose  silver  fountains 

The  mighty  Susquehanna  takes  its  rise  ; 
O  Haunted  Lake,  among  the  pine-clad  mountains, 

Forever  smiling  upward  to  the  skies, — 
A  master's  hand  hath  painted  all  thy  beauties  ; 

A  master's  mind  hath  peopled  all  thy  shore 
With  wraiths  of  mighty  hunters  and  fair  maidens, 

Haunting  thy  forest-glades  f orevermore. " 

All  around  Otsego  Lake  and  its  neighborhood  are 
the  scenes  which  Cooper  has  interwoven  into  his 
novel,  The  Beer-Slayer.  About  seven  miles  north- 
west are  the  well-known  Richfield  Springs  (magnesia 
and  sulphur),  near  Candarago  Lake.  This  Indian 
name,  meaning  "  on  the  lake,"  has  recently  been  re- 
vived to  supersede  the  old  title  of  Schuyler's  Lake 
for  this  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  enbosomed  in  green 
and  sloping  hills,  which  is  the  chief  scenic  charm  of 
Richfield.  To  the  eastward  from  Otsego  Lake  is  the 
romantic  Cherry  Valley,  another  attractive  summer 
resort,  and  the  scene  of  a  sad  Indian  massacre  in 
1778,  the  site  of  the  old  fort  that  was  then  captured 
being  still  exhibited,  with  the  graves  of  the  murdered 
villagers,  to  whom  a  monument  has  been  erected.  A 
few  miles  farther,  in  a  narrow  upland  wooded  valley 
surrounded  by  high  hills,  are  the  Sharon  Springs 
(sulphur  and  chalybeate),  which  in  earlier  times  were 
so  popular  with  our  German  citizens,  who  were  at- 
tracted by  the  resemblance  to  the  Fatherland,  that 
the  place  was  called  the  "  Baden-Baden  of  America." 
The  name  of  Sharon  came  from  Sharon  in  Connecti- 


298     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

cut,  and  the  spring  water  is  discharged  with  a  crust 
of  white  and  flocculent  sulphur  into  a  stream  not  in- 
appropriately called  the  Brimstone  Brook.  In  this 
valley,  east  of  the  springs,  one  of  the  last  Revolu- 
tionary battles  was  fought,  Colonel  Willett's  Ameri- 
can force  in  1781  routing  a  detachment  of  Tories  and 
Indians  with  severe  loss.  There  are  grottoes  in  the 
neighborhood  abounding  in  stalactites  and  beautiful 
crystals  of  sulphate  of  lime.  Not  far  away  is  the 
noted  Howe's  Cave,  an  immense  cavern,  said  to  ex- 
tend for  eleven  miles  underground,  being  an  old 
water-channel  in  the  lower  Helderberg  limestone,  and 
which  has  many  visitors,  attracted  by  its  fine  display 
of  stalactites  and  grand  rock  chambers,  with  the 
usual  subterranean  lake  and  stream.  All  this  region 
was  originally  settled  by  Germans  from  the  Palati- 
nate. 

The  Susquehanna,  steadily  gaining  in  volume, 
flows  in  wayward  course  down  rapids  and  around 
many  bends  to  Binghamton,  near  the  southern  border 
of  New  York,  where  it  receives  the  Chenango  River, 
and  its  elevation  has  declined  to  eight  hundred  and 
sixty  feet.  This  is  a  busy  manufacturing  city  and 
railway  junction,  having  forty  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  first  settlers  came  in  1787,  and  William  Bing- 
ham of  Philadelphia  owning  the  land  at  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  rivers,  the  town  was  afterwards  named 
for  him.  The  Chenango  Canal  connects  the  Susque- 
hanna waters  from  here  with  the  Erie  Canal,  about 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  HEADWATERS.  299 

ninety  miles  northward,  at  Utica,  the  Indian  word  Che- 
nango meaning  "  the  bull  thistle."  Entering  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Susquehanna  now  flows  many  miles  past 
mountain  and  village,  around  great  bends  and  breaking 
through  the  Allegheny  ridges,  passes  along  the  Wyo- 
ming Valley,  already  described,  and  finally  going  out 
through  the  Nanticoke  Gap,  reaches  Northumberland, 
where  it  receives  its  chief  tributary,  the  West  Branch. 
This  great  stream  comes  for  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  westward  through  the  Allegheny  ranges,  passing 
Lewisburg,  the  seat  of  the  Baptist  University  of 
Lewisburg,  Milton,  and  the  noted  lumber  town  of 
Williamsport,  famous  for  its  great  log  boom.  This 
arrangement  for  collecting  logs  cost  a  million  dollars, 
and  extends  about  four  miles  up  the  river  above  the 
town,  with  its  massive  piers  and  braces,  and  will 
hold  three  hundred  millions  of  feet  of  lumber.  The 
river  front  is  lined  with  basins  and  sawmills.  In  earlier 
years  this  boom  has  been  so  filled  with  pine  and  hem- 
lock logs  in  the  spring  that  the  river  could  almost 
anywhere  be  crossed  on  a  solid  floor  of  timber.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  the  vast  forests  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Alleghenies  have  been  so  generally  cut  off  that 
the  trade  has  seriously  declined.  At  Northumber- 
land lived  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley,  the  discoverer  of 
oxygen  gas,  who  died  there  in  1804,  and  is  buried  in 
the  cemetery. 

The  Susquehanna  now  becomes  a  broad  river,  and 
just  below  flows  past  Sunbury,  the  railway  outlet  of 


800     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  extensive  Shamokin  coal  district.  This  town 
was  originally  Fort  Augusta,  built  in  1756  to  guard 
the  Susquehanna  frontier  just  below  the  junction  of 
its  two  branches.  In  the  French  and  Indian  War 
it  had  usually  a  garrison  of  a  regiment,  and  it  was 
then  regarded  as  the  best  defensive  work  in  Penn- 
sylvania. After  that  war  it  gradually  fell  into  de- 
cay, although  during  the  Revolution  it  was  always  a 
refuge  for  the  Susquehanna  frontier  settlers  fleeing 
from  Indian  brutality  and  massacre.  Many  promi- 
nent officers  of  the  Revolutionary  army  received 
their  military  training  at  this  fort.  The  settlement 
was  originally  called  Shamokin,  from  the  Indian 
name  of  the  creek  here  falling  into  the  Susquehanna 
— Schakamo-kink,  meaning,  like  Shackamaxon,  u  the 
place  of  eels."  For  fifty  miles  below  Sunbury  the 
broad  Susquehanna  winds  among  the  mountain 
ranges,  traversing  one  after  another,  until  its  channel 
is  narrowed  to  pass  through  the  great  Dauphin  Gap 
in  the  Kittatinny,  five  miles  above  Harrisburg,  where 
the  river  bed  has  descended  to  an  elevation  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  tide. 

THE   BEAUTIFUL   BLUE   JUNIATA. 

A  long,  low  bridge  carries  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road across  the  river  in  front  of  Dauphin  Gap,  and  a 
short  distance  above,  in  a  delta  of  fertile  islands,  the 
Susquehanna  receives  its  romantic  tributary,  the 
Juniata,  flowing  for  a  hundred  miles  from  the  heart 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  BLUE  JUNIATA.     301 

of  the  Alleghenies,  and  breaking  out  of  them  through 
a  notch  cut  down  in  the  long  ridge  of  the  Tuscarora 
Mountain.  Here  is  the  iron-making  town  of  Dun- 
cannon,  settled  by  the  sturdy  Scotch-Irish,  who  were 
numerous  along  the  Juniata  and  in  its  neighboring 
valleys,  and  who  suffered  greatly  from  Indian  forays 
in  the  early  days  of  the  frontier.  Upon  Duncan's 
Island,  the  chief  one  in  the  delta,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Juniata,  was  the  place  of  the  council-fire  of  the  In- 
dian tribes  of  all  this  region.  Now,  this  island  is 
mainly  a  pleasure-ground,  having  spacious  and  shady 
groves,  while  the  canal,  crossing  it  from  the  Susque- 
hanna to  the  Juniata,  goes  directly  through  an  exten- 
sive Indian  mound  and  burial-place.  We  will  enter 
the  fastnesses  of  the  Alleghenies  by  the  winding 
gorge  of  the  "  beautiful  blue  Juniata/'  flowing 
through  magnificent  scenery  from  the  eastern  face 
of  the  main  Allegheny  range  out  to  the  great  river. 
It  breaks  down  ridge  after  ridge,  stretching  broadly 
across  the  country,  and  presents  superb  landscapes 
and  impressive  mountain  views.  The  route  is  a 
series  of  bends  and  gorges,  the  river  crossing  suc- 
cessive valleys  between  the  ridges,  now  running  for 
miles  northeast  along  the  base  of  a  towering  moun- 
tain and  then  turning  east  or  southeast  to  break 
through  it  by  a  romantic  pass.  The  glens  and  moun- 
tains, with  ever-changing  views,  give  an  almost  end- 
less panorama.  Softness  of  outline,  massiveness  and 
variety,  are  the  peculiarities  of  Juniata  scenery.    The 


802     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

stream  is  small,  not  carrying  a  great  amount  of  water 
in  ordinary  seasons,  and  it  seems  as  much  by  strategy 
as  by  power  to  have  overcome  the  obstacles  and  made 
its  mountain  passes.  The  rended  mountains,  steep 
tree-covered  slopes  and  frequent  isolated  sentinel-like 
hills  rising  from  the  glens,  have  all  been  moulded  into 
rounded  forms  by  the  action  of  the  elements,  leaving 
few  abrupt  precipices  or  naked  rocks  to  mar  the  regu- 
larity of  the  natural  beauties.  The  valleys  and  lower 
parts  of  the  mountain  sides  are  generally  cultivated, 
the  fields  sloping  up  to  the  mantle  of  forest  crowning 
the  flanks  and  summits  of  the  ridges.  Every  change 
of  sunshine  or  shadow,  and  the  steady  progress  of 
the  seasons,  give  new  tints  to  these  glens  and  moun- 
tains. At  times  the  ravines  are  deep  and  the  river 
tortuous,  and  again  it  meanders  across  the  rich  flat 
bottom  lands  of  a  broad  valley.  In  its  winding  course 
among  these  mountain  ranges,  this  renowned  river 
passes  through  and  displays  almost  the  whole  geo- 
logical formation  of  Pennsylvania.  The  primary 
rocks  are  to  the  eastward  of  the  Susquehanna,  and 
the  bituminous  coal  measures  begin  on  the  western 
Allegheny  slope,  so  that  the  river  cuts  into  a  rock 
stratification  over  six  miles  in  thickness,  as  one  after 
another  formation  comes  to  the  surface. 

We  go  through  the  narrow  Tuscarora  Gap,  and 
are  journeying  over  the  lands  of  the  Tuscaroras,  one 
of  the  Iroquois  Six  Nations,  who  came  up  from  the 
South,  and  were  given  the  name  of  Tuscarora,  or  the 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  BLUE  JUNIATA.  303 

u  shirt-wearer/'  because  long  contact  with  the  whites 
had  led  them  to  adopt  that  garment.  Beyond  the 
Gap,  the  Tuscarora  Valley  is  enclosed  on  its  north- 
west side  by  the  Turkey  Mountain,  the  next  western 
ridge,  and  it  was  a  region  of  terrible  Indian  conflicts 
and  massacres  in  the  pioneer  days,  when  the  first  fort 
built  there  was  burnt,  and  every  settler  either  killed 
or  carried  off  into  captivity.  Here  was  fought  the 
"Grasshopper  War"  between  the  Tuscaroras  and 
Delawares.  They  had  villages  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  river,  and  one  day  the  children  disputed  about 
some  grasshoppers.  The  quarrel  involved  first  the 
squaws  and  then  the  men,  a  bloody  battle  following. 
Mifflin,  an  attractive  town,  is  located  here,  and  to  the 
westward  the  Juniata  breaks  through  the  next  great 
ridge  crossing  its  path,  passing  a  massive  gorge 
formed  by  the  Shade  and  Blue  Mountains,  flowing  for 
miles  in  the  deep  and  narrow  winding  canyon  be- 
tween them,  the  far-famed  "Lewistown  or  Long 
Narrows,"  having  the  railway  hanging  upon  one 
bank  and  the  canal  upon  the  other.  Broken,  slaty 
shingle  covers  most  of  the  hill-slopes,  and  in  the  broad 
valley,  above  the  lengthened  gorge,  is  Lewistown, 
nestling  at  the  base  of  a  huge  mountain  at  the  outlet 
of  the  beautiful  Kishicoquillas  Valley,  spreading  up 
among  the  high  hills  to  the  northward — its  name 
meaning  "the  snakes  are  already  in  their  dens." 
The  hero  of  this  attractive  region  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  then  its  most  distinguished  inhabitant, 


804     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

was  Logan,  the  chief  of  the  Mingoes  and  Cayugas, 
whose  speeches,  preserved  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  are 
a  favorite  in  school  declamation.  He  was  of  giant 
mould,  nearly  seven  feet  high,  and  lived  at  Logan's 
Spring  in  the  valley.  He  was  the  friend  of  the 
white  men,  but  when  the  frontier  became  too  well 
settled  for  him  longer  to  find  the  deer  on  which  he 
subsisted,  selling  their  skins  to  the  traders,  he  went 
westward  to  the  Ohio  River,  locating  near  Wheeling. 
Here,  without  provocation,  his  family  were  cruelly 
massacred,  and  this  ended  Logan's  love  for  the 
whites.  He  became  a  relentless  foe,  wreaking  indis- 
criminate vengeance,  until  killed  in  the  Shawnee 
wars  beyond  the  Ohio,  having  joined  that  hostile 
tribe.  The  Lewistown  Narrows  are  the  finest  moun- 
tain pass  of  the  Juniata,  the  peaks  precipitously 
rising  over  a  thousand  feet  above  the  river,  which 
forces  a  passage  between  them  for  more  than  eight 
miles,  the  densely  wooded  cliffs  so  enclosing  and 
overshadowing  the  gorge  as  to  give  it  an  appearance 
of  deepest  gloom. 

THE   STANDING   STONE   AND    SINKING   SPRING. 

Westward  beyond  the  valley  rises  the  next  ridge 
pierced  by  the  Juniata  in  its  outflow,  Jack's  Moun- 
tain, and  its  gorge  is  known  as  "  Jack's  Narrows." 
Here  penetrated  Captain  Jack  Armstrong  in  the 
early  colonial  days,  a  hunter  and  Indian  trader,  whose 
cabin  was  burnt  and  wife  and  children  massacred, 


THE  STANDING  STONE  AND  SINKING  SPKING.      305 

making  him  always  afterwards  an  avenging  Nemesis, 
roving  along  the  Juniata  Valley  and  killing  Indians 
indiscriminately.  Jack's  Narrows  is  a  pass  even 
more  contracted  than  that  below  Lewistown,  and  a 
profusion  of  shingle  and  broken  stone  covers  its 
mountain  sides,  the  deranged  limestone  strata  in 
places  standing  almost  upright.  Mount  Union  is  in 
the  valley  east  of  this  pass,  and  beyond  it  is  the 
chief  town  of  the  Juniata,  Huntingdon,  which  has 
about  eight  thousand  people.  This  was  the  oldest 
settlement  on  the  river,  ninety-seven  miles  west  of 
Harrisburg,  the  ancient  "  Standing  Stone,"  where  the 
Indians  of  the  valley  for  centuries  met  to  hold  their 
councils.  The  earliest  white  settlers  came  in  1754. 
The  original  Standing  Stone  of  Huntingdon,  erected 
by  the  Indians,  was  a  granite  column,  about  fourteen 
feet  high  and  six  inches  square,  covered  with  strange 
characters,  which  were  the  sacred  records  of  the 
Oneidas.  Once  the  Tuscaroras  stole  it,  but  the 
Oneidas  followed,  and,  fighting  for  their  sacred 
treasure,  recaptured  it.  When  the  whites  came 
along,  the  Oneidas,  who  had  joined  the  French,  went 
west,  carrying  the  stone  with  them.  Afterwards,  a 
second  stone,  much  like  the  first,  was  set  up,  and  a 
fragment  of  it  is  now  preserved  at  Huntingdon. 
Here  was  built  a  large  fort  anterior  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, which  was  a  refuge  for  the  frontier  settlers. 
The  "  Standing  Stone  "  is  engraved  as  an  appropriate 
symbol  on  the  city  seal  of  Huntingdon,  being  sur- 


306      AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

rounded  by  a  representation  of  mountains,  and  the 
name  of  u  Oneida  *  (the  granite)  is  preserved  in  a 
township  across  the  river.  Selina,  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon,  who  was  a  benefactor  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  had  her  titled  name  given  the  city. 
The  then  University  Provost,  Dr.  William  Smith, 
became  owner  of  the  town  site,  and  thus  remembered 
her  generosity.  About  fifty  miles  southwest  of  Hunt- 
ingdon, amid  the  mountains,  is  Bedford,  noted  for  its 
chalybeate  and  sulphur  springs,  discovered  in  18041, 
which  have  long  been  a  favorite  resort  of  Pennsyl- 
vanians  on  account  of  their  healing  waters.  The 
whole  country  thereabout  is  filled  with  semi-bitu- 
minous coal  measures,  furnishing  a  lucrative  traffic. 

Diminishing  in  volume,  our  attractive  Juniata 
flows  through  a  rough  country  above  Huntingdon, 
after  threading  the  pass  in  the  lofty  Warrior  Ridge. 
Extending  off  to  the  southwestward  is  Morrison's 
Cove,  a  rich  valley  under  the  shadow-  of  the  long 
mountain  ridge,  which  was  settled  in  1755  by  the 
Dunkards.  These  singular  people,  among  whose  car- 
dinal doctrines  are  peace  and  non-resistance,  were  at- 
tacked by  the  Indians  in  1777,  who-  entered  the  val- 
ley and  almost  exterminated  the  settlement.  Most 
of  them  bowed  submissively  to  the  stroke  of  death, 
gently  saying  u  Gottes  wille  sei  gethan  "  (God's  will 
be  done).  One,  however,  resisted,  killed  two  In- 
dians and  escaped;  but  afterwards  returning,  the 
Dunkard  Church  tried  him  for  this  breach  of  faith, 


THE  STANDING  STONE  AND  SINKING  SPEING.      307 

and  he  was  excommunicated.  In  this  region  is  the 
Sinking  Spring,  a  strange  water  course  originally  ap- 
pearing in  a  limestone  cave,  where  it  comes  out  of  an 
arched  opening,  with  sufficient  water  to  turn  a  large 
mill ;  but  it  soon  disappears  underground,  the  con- 
cealed current  being  heard  through  fissures,  bubbling 
far  below.  Then  it  returns  to  the  surface,  flowing 
some  distance,  enters  another  cave,  passing  under 
Cave  Mountain^  and  finally  reappears  and  falls  into , 
the  Juniata,  making,  in  its  peculiar  waywardness,  as 
remarkable  a  stream  as  can  anywhere  be  found. 
Here  our  famous  Juniata  River,  dwindled  to  a  little 
creek,  comes  down  the  mountain  side,  and  we  pene- 
trate farther  by  following  up  the  Little  Juniata.  It 
has  brought  us,  through  the  great  ridges,  into  the 
heart  of  the  Appalachian  region,  to  the  eastern  base 
of  the  main  Allegheny  Mountain,  on  the  flanks  of 
which  are  its  sources.  It  has  displayed  to  us  a  noted 
valley,  full  of  the  story  of  early  Colonial  contests, 
massacres  and  perils,  the  scenes  of  the  fearless  mis- 
sionary labors  of  Brainerd  the  Puritan  and  Loskiel 
the  Moravian.  Brainerd  recognized  the  pagan  idol- 
atry of  the  Indians,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the 
Bible  to  their  solemn  religious  festivals  and  expound 
its  divine  principles,  to  spoil  the  incantations  and 
frustrate  the  charms  of  their  medicine  men.  Once 
a  Nanticoke  pontiff  got  into  a  hot  argument  with 
Brainerd,  saying  God  had  taught  him  religion  and 
he  would  never  turn  from  it ;  that  he  would  not  be- 
Vol.  I.— u 


808     AMERICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

lieve  in  the  Devil ;  and  he  added  that  the  souls  of 

the  dead  passed  to  the  South,  where  the  good  lived 

in  a  fair  city,  while  the  evil  hovered  forever  in  outer 

darkness.     Many  are  the  romances  of  the  attractive 

Juniata : 

"  Gay  was  the  mountain  song 
Of  bright  Alfarata, 
Where  sweep  the  waters  of 
The  blue  Juniata  : 
'  Strong  and  true  my  arrows  are, 
In  my  painted  quiver, 
Swift  goes  my  light  canoe 
Adown  the  rapid  river.'  " 

CROSSING   THE   MOUNTAIN   TOP. 

At  the  eastern  base  of  the  main  Allegheny  range 
a  long  mountain  valley  stretches  broadly  from  the  far 
northeast  to  the  southwest,  and  here  is  Tyrone,  a  set- 
tlement of  extensive  iron  works,  and  the  outlet  of 
the  greatest  bituminous  coal-fields  of  Central  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Clearfield  district,  the  town  of  Clearfield 
being  about  forty  miles  to  the  northwest.  Northeast 
of  Tyrone,  this  valley  is  called  the  Bald  Eagle  Val- 
ley, a  picturesque  and  fertile  region  j  and  to  the 
southwest  it  is  the  Tuckahoe  Valley.  At  the  base 
of  the  Bald  Eagle  Mountain,  thirty -three  miles  from 
Tyrone,  is  the  town  of  Bellefonte,  another  iron  re- 
gion, handling  the  products  of  the  Bald  Eagle  and 
Nittany  Valleys,  and  receiving  its  name  from  the 
"  Beautiful  Fount "  which  supplies  the  town  with 
water.     This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  springs 


I""'  ■■■ ■'■<•.-■.»•«. ,.,.,..,.,..,. ,...,,„,,,,„;,,. 


>• 


CROSSING  THE  MOUNTAIN  TOP.  309 

in  the  Alleghenies,  pouring  out  two  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  gallons  of  the  purest  water  every 
minute.  Following  the  Tuckahoe  Valley  southward, 
at  the  base  of  the  main  Allegheny  range  we  come  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  town  of  Altoona,  and 
eight  miles  farther  to  Hollidaysburg.  Each  is  a  rep- 
resentative town — Hollidaysburg  of  the  past  methods 
of  crossing  the  mountain  top,  and  Altoona  of  the 
present. 

In  1836  Mr.  David  Stephenson,  the  famous  British 
railway  engineer,  made  a  journey  across  Pennsylva- 
nia by  the  methods  then  in  vogue,  and  wrote  that  he 
travelled  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five  miles  by  the  route  taken,  in 
ninety-one  hours,  at  a  cost  of  three  pounds  sterling, 
about  four  cents  a  mile,  and  that  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles  of  the  journey,  which  he  calls  "  extra- 
ordinary," were  by  railroads,  and  two  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  miles  by  canals.  This  was  the  line 
used  for  twenty  years,  a  main  route  of  travel  from 
the  seaboard  to  the  West,  having  been  put  into  oper- 
ation in  1834.  It  followed  the  Columbia  Railroad 
from  Philadelphia  to  Columbia  on  the  Susquehanna, 
the  canal  up  the  Susquehanna  and  Juniata  Rivers  to 
Hollidaysburg,  a  portage  railroad  by  inclined  planes 
over  the  main  Allegheny  Mountain  ridge  to  Johns- 
town, and  the  canal  again,  down  the  Conemaugh  and 
Allegheny  Rivers  to  Pittsburg.  There  were  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  miles  of  canal  from  Colum- 


310     AMERICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

bia  to  Hollidaysburg,  which  went  through  more  than 
a  hundred  locks  and  crossed  thirty-three  aqueducts, 
having  risen  about  six  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
at  Columbia  when  it  reached  the  eastern  face  of  the 
mountain.  The  canal  west  of  Johnstown  was  one 
hundred  and  five  miles  long,  descended  sixty-four 
locks,  and  went  through  a  tunnel  of  one  thousand  feet. 
The  Portage  Railroad  of  thirty-six  miles  crossed  the 
mountain  by  Blair's  Gap,  above  Hollidaysburg,  at 
twenty -three  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  elevation, 
through  a  tunnel  nine  hundred  feet  long.  There 
were  ten  inclined  planes,  five  on  each  side.  The 
steepest  side  of  the  Allegheny  Mountain  being  its 
eastern  face,  the  railway  from  Hollidaysburg  to  the 
summit,  though  only  ten  miles  long,  ascended  four- 
teen hundred  feet,  while  twenty  miles  of  railway  on 
the  western  side  descended  eleven  hundred  and 
seventy-two  feet.  The  cars  hauled  up  the  planes 
each  carried  three  tons  of  freight,  and  three  cars 
were  hauled  at  a  single  draft.  There  could  be 
twenty-four  cars  carrying  seventy-two  tons  passed 
over  in  one  hour,  which  was  ample  for  the  traffic  at 
that  time,  the  average  business  being  three  hundred 
tons  of  freight  a  day.  This  amount  would  be  car- 
ried in  less  than  ten  of  the  big  cars  of  to-day.  It 
took  passengers  eight  hours  to  go  over  the  mountain, 
halting  one  hour  on  the  summit  for  dinner. 

This  route  was  superseded  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  crossing  above  Altoona,  opened  in  1854,  a 


CBOSSING  THE  MOUNTAIN  TOP.  311 

road  made  for  ordinary  trains ;  and  then  Hollidays- 
burg  became  a  town  of  iron  manufacture,  losing  the 
bustle  and  business  of  the  Portage,  which  was  aban- 
doned. The  railroad  company  acquired  a  large  tract 
of  land  between  the  main  Allegheny  range  and  the 
Brush  Mountain  to  the  southward,  which  has  a  deep 
notch,  called  the  "  Kettle,"  cut  down  into  it,  opening 
a  distant  prospect  of  gray  mountain  ridges  behind. 
Here  has  been  established  the  most  completely  rep- 
resentative railway  city  in  the  world,  having  enor- 
mous railway  shops,  a  gigantic  establishment,-  and  a 
population  of  thirty-five  thousand,  almost  all  in  one 
way  or  another  dependent  on  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road. Altoona  is  at  an  elevation  of  about  eleven 
hundred  feet  above  tide,  and  the  railway  climbs  to 
the  summit  of  the  mountain  by  a  grade  of  ninety 
feet  to  the  mile,  winding  around  an  indented  valley 
to  get  the  necessary  elevation.  At  its  head  this  val- 
ley divides  into  two  smaller  glens,  with  a  towering 
crag  rising  between  them.  Having  ascended  the 
northern  side,  the  railway  curves  around,  crossing 
the  smaller  glens  upon  high  embankments,  doubling 
upon  itself,  and  mounting  steadily  higher  by  running 
up  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  to  the  outer  edge 
of  the  ridge.  This  sweeping  curve  gives  striking 
scenic  effects,  and  is  the  noted  Pennsylvania  *  Horse 
Shoe,"  and  the  huge  crag  between  the  smaller  glens, 
in  which  the  head  of  the  Horse  Shoe  curve  is  partly 
hewn,  is  Kittanning  Point.     This  means  the  "  great 


312     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

stream,"  two  creeks  issuing  out  of  the  glens  uniting 
below  it ;  and  here  was  the  route,  at  sixteen  hundred 
feet  elevation,  of  the  ancient  Indian  trail  across  the 
mountain,  the  "Kittanning  Path,"  in  their  portage 
between  the  Juniata  and  Ohio  waters.  It  shows  how 
closely  the  modern  railroad  builder  has  followed  the 
route  set  for  him  by  the  original  road-makers  among 
the  red  men.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  carries 
four  tracks  over  the  mountain,  piercing  the  summit 
by  two  tunnels  at  about  twenty-two  hundred  feet  ele- 
vation, with  two  tracks  in  each.  The  mountain  rises 
much  higher,  and  has  coal  mines,  coke  ovens  and 
miners'  cabins  on  the  very  top.  This  is  the  water- 
shed dividing  the  Atlantic  waters  from  those  of  the 
Mississippi,  flowing  to  the  Gulf,  and  Gallitzin,  a  flour- 
ishing mining  village,  is  the  summit  station  of  the 
railway. 

GOING   DOWN  THE   CONEMAUGH. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
were  but  two  white  men  living  in  all  this  region. 
The  first  one  there  was  Thomas  Blair,  whose  cabin 
was  on  the  mountain  at  Blair's  Gap,  where  the  Port- 
age Railroad  afterwards  came  over.  The  other  was 
Michael  Maguire,  who  came  along  in  1790,  and 
going  through  the  Gap,  concluded  to  settle  among 
the  Indians  about  twelve  miles  away,  at  what  was 
afterwards  Loretto.  These  rugged  pioneers  spent 
most  of  their  time  fighting  and  watching  the  Indians 


GOING  DOWN  THE  CONEMAUGH.  313 

and  wild  beasts,  and  gathered  a  few  companions 
around  them.  Here  afterwards  came  Prince  De- 
metrius Augustine  Grallitzin,  who  left  the  Russian 
army  in  1792  and  visited  America,  designing  to 
travel.  He  became  a  Catholic  priest,  and  liking 
these  mountains,  established  a  mission  at  Loretto  in 
1798,  spending  a  fortune  in  maintaining  it,  his  mis- 
sionary charge  ultimately  extending  over  the  whole 
mountain  region.  He  attracted  a  population  of  about 
three  thousand,  chiefly  Germans  and  Irish,  repeatedly 
refused  the  episcopacy,  and  continued  his  labors  until 
his  death  at  Loretto  in  1840.  His  remains  lie  in 
front  of  his  church,  surmounted  by  a  monument, 
while  the  centenary  of  this  St.  MichaePs  Church  of 
Loretto  was  marked  in  October,  1899,  by  erecting 
his  bronze  statue,  the  Prelate-Prince  Gallitzin  being 
portrayed  as  he  appeared  in  the  Allegheny  wilder- 
ness, wearing  cassock,  surplice  and  a  skull-cap  in 
lieu  of  the  beretta,  this  being  his  usual  head-gear  at 
service.  Loretto,  named  after  the  city  on  the  Ad- 
riatic, was  the  first  nucleus  of  population  in  this  ele- 
vated district,  and  is  about  five  miles  north  of  the 
railway.  Loretto  was  the  first  settlement  in  this  re- 
gion, but  afterwards  the  coal  and  iron  attracted  the 
Welsh,  who  came  in  numbers,  and  founded  the  town 
of  Ebensburg,  about  eleven  miles  from  the  railway. 
They  gave  their  familiar  name  of  Cambria  to  the 
county.  Here  on  the  mountain  side,  at  an  elevation 
of  over  two  thousand  feet,  are  the  Cresson  Springs, 


814     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

a  noted  health  resort,  with  a  half-dozen  medicinal 
springs,  the  chief  being  an  astringent  chalybeate  and 
a  strong  alum. 

The  route  west  of  the  mountain  is  down  the  valley 
of  the  Conemaugh,  in  a  district  underlaid  with  coal, 
and  having  at  every  village  evidence  of  this  industry. 
The  Conemaugh  is  "  the  other  stream w  of  the  In- 
dians, and  winding  down  its  tortuous  valley,  with 
coal  and  iron  all  about,  the  railway  comes  to  the  set- 
tlement of  Conemaugh,  which  spreads  into  the  larger 
town  of  Johnstown,  the  seat  of  the  great  Cambria 
Steel  Works.  The  Conemaugh  Valley  is  a  deep 
canyon,  and  Conemaugh  village  was  the  western  ter- 
minus of  the  mountain  portage,  where  the  canal 
began.  A  little  flat  space  about  a  mile  beyond,  at 
the  junction  of  Stony  Creek,  was  in  early  times  an 
Indian  village,  then  known  from  its  sachem  as  "  Kick- 
enapawling's  Old  Town."  When  the  white  men  ven- 
tured over  the  mountain,  there  came  among  them  a 
hardy  German  pioneer  named  Joseph  Jahns,  who 
built  a  log  cabin  on  the  flat  in  1791,  and  from  him 
the  cluster  of  little  houses  that  grew  afterwards  be- 
came known  as  Jahnstown.  Then  came  the  Welsh 
miners  and  iron-workers,  and  they  set  up  charcoal 
furnaces,  and  soon  changed  the  name  to  Johnstown. 
From  this  humble  beginning  grew  the  largest  iron 
and  steel  establishment  in  Pennsylvania.  Its  ores, 
coal  and  limestone  were  originally  all  dug  out  of  the 
neighboring  ridges,  though  now  it  uses  Lake  Supe- 


GOING  DOWN  THE  CONEMAUGH.  315 

rior  ores.  The  Conemaugh  Valley  is  here  enclosed 
by  high  hills,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  town  the  rail- 
road is  carried  across  the  river  on  a  solid  stone  bridge 
with  low  arches. 

This  region,  on  May  31,  1889,  was  the  scene  of 
one  of  the  most  appalling  disasters  of  modern  times. 
A  deluge  of  rain  for  the  greater  part  of  two  days  had 
fallen  upon  the  Alleghenies,  and  made  great  freshets 
in  both  the  Juniata  and  the  Conemaugh.  On  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Conemaugh,  fifteen  miles  above 
Johnstown,  is  Conemaugh  Lake,  a  reservoir  there 
formed  by  damming  the  stream,  so  that  it  covered  a 
surface  of  five  hundred  acres — the  dam,  a  thousand 
feet  long,  being  in  places  one  hundred  feet  high.  This 
had  been  made  as  a  fishing-ground  by  a  club  of  Pitts- 
burg anglers.  The  excessive  rains  filled  the  lake, 
and  the  weakened  dam  burst,  its  twenty  millions  of 
tons  of  waters  rushing  down  the  already  swollen  Con- 
emaugh in  a  mass  a  half-mile  wide  stretching  across 
the  valley  and  forty  to  fifty  feet  high,  carrying  every- 
thing before  it.  The  lake  level  was  about  three  hun- 
dred feet  higher  than  Johnstown,  and  every  village, 
tree,  house,  and  the  whole  railway,  with  much  of  the 
soil  and  rocks,  were  carried  before  the  resistless  flood 
to  Johnstown,  where  the  mass  was  stopped  by  and 
piled  up  behind  the  stone  railway  bridge,  and  there 
caught  fire,  the  resistless  flood,  to  get  out,  sweeping 
away  nearly  the  whole  town  in  the  valley  bottom. 
This  vast  calamity  destroyed  from  three  to  five  thou 


316     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

sand  lives,  for  no  accurate  estimate  could  be  ever 
made,  and  ten  millions  of  property.  It  took  the  flood 
about  seven  minutes  of  actual  time  to  pass  over  the 
fifteen  miles  between  the  lake  and  Johnstown,  and 
there  was  left,  after  it  had  passed,  a  wide  bed,  like  a 
great  Alpine  glacial  moraine,  filled  with  ponderous 
masses  of  sand  and  stones  and  wreckage  of  every 
description,  the  resistless  torrent  being  afterwards  re- 
duced to  a  little  stream  of  running  water.  It  required 
many  months  to  recover  from  this  appalling  destruc- 
tion ;  but  the  people  went  to  work  with  a  will  and  re- 
built the  town,  the  steel  works  and  the  railway,  which 
for  a  dozen  miles  down  the  valley  had  been  com- 
pletely obliterated.  This  terrible  disaster  excited 
universal  sympathy,  and  a  relief  fund  amounting  to 
nearly  $3,000,000  was  contributed  from  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

LIGONIER   AND   HANNASTOWN. 

The  whole  mountain  district  west  of  Johnstown  is 
filled  with  coal  mines,  coke  ovens  and  iron  furnaces, 
this  being  the  "  Pittsburg  Coal  District."  The  Con- 
emaugh  breaks  through  the  next  western  ridge,  the 
Laurel  Mountain,  and  the  broadening  river  winds 
along  its  deep  valley  between  high  wooded  hills.  It 
is  a  veritable  "  Black  Country,"  and  ten  miles  beyond, 
the  river  passes  the  finest  mountain  gorge  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Alleghenies,  the  deep  and  wind- 
ing canyon  of  the  Packsaddle  Narrows,  by  which  the 
Conemaugh  breaks  out  of  the  Chestnut  Ridge,  the 


UGONIEE  AND  HANNASTOWN.  317 

western  border  of  the  Allegheny  ranges.  For  two 
hundred  miles  the  railroad  has  gone  through  or  over 
range  after  range,  and  this  grand  pass,  encompassed 
by  mountains  rising  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the 
bottom  of  the  gorge,  is  the  impressive  exit  at  the 
final  portal.  The  main  railroad  then  leaves  the 
Conemaugh,  and  goes  off  southwestward  along  the 
slope  of  Chestnut  Ridge  towards  Greensburg  and 
Pittsburg.  The  river  unites  with  the  Loyalhanna 
Creek  below,  and  then  flows  as  the  Kiskiminetas 
down  to  the  Allegheny.  The  name  of  Loyalhanna 
means  the  "middle  stream/'  while  the  tradition  is 
that  an  impatient  Indian  warrior,  anxious  to  move 
forward,  shouted  in  the  night  to  his  comrades  en- 
camped on  the  other  river — "  Giesh-gumanito  " — 
u  let  us  make  daylight " — and  from  this  was  derived 
its  name  of  Kiskiminetas.  A  branch  railroad  from 
here  goes  to  Blairsville,  named  in  memory  of  the 
solitary  pioneer  of  Blair's  Gap,  and  another  northward 
leads  to  the  town  of  Indiana.  The  great  Chestnut 
Ridge  which  the  main  railway  runs  along,  gradually 
descending  the  slope,  is  the  last  mountain  the  west- 
bound traveller  sees  until  he  reaches  the  Rockies. 
For  seventy  miles  to  the  southwestward  the  Chestnut 
Ridge  and  Laurel  Mountain  extend  in  parallels,  their 
crest  lines  being  almost  exactly  ten  miles  apart,  and 
enclosing  the  Ligonier  Valley,  out  of  which  flows 
northward  the  Loyalhanna  Creek,  breaking  through 
the  Chestnut  Ridge.     Near  this  pass  in   1757  was 


818     AMEEICA,  PICTUBESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

built  Fort  Ligonier,  another  of  the  frontier  outposts 
which  resisted  the  incursions  of  the  French  and  In- 
dians, who  then  held  all  the  country  to  the  westward. 
In  the  Chestnut  Ridge  at  Hillside  is  "the  "Great 
Bear  Cave/7  an  extensive  labyrinth  of  passages  and 
spacious  chambers  stretching  more  than  a  mile  un- 
derground, which,  like  most  such  places,  has  its  sub- 
terranean river  and  its  tale  of  woe.  A  young  girl, 
stolen  by  gypsies,  to  escape  from  them  took  refuge 
in  this  cave,  and  losing  her  way,  perished,  her  bones 
being  found  years  afterwards.  Explorers  since  have 
always  unwound  balls  of  twine  in  this  labyrinth,  to  be 
able  to  retrace  their  steps. 

In  a  good  farming  district  of  the  Westmoreland 
region  is  Greensburg,  another  railway  junction  where 
branches  go  southward  to  the  Monongahela  coal- 
fields. Robert  Hanna  built  a  house  near  here  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  around  which  gathered  some 
thirty  log  cabins,  and  the  place  in  course  of  time  be- 
came known  as  Hannastown,  prominent  in  the  early 
history  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  Here  was  held 
the  first  court  convened  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  and 
here  were  passed  the  patriotic  resolutions  of  May  16, 
1775,  upon  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  which 
sounded  the  keynote  for  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence the  following  year.  Here  also  first  ap- 
peared during  the  Revolution  General  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  an  immigrant  from  Scotland,  the  grandson  of 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT.  319 

the  Earl  of  Roslyn,  who  lived  in  an  humble  house  on 
Chestnut  Ridge.  He  served  in  the  French  and  In- 
dian wars,  and  was  the  British  commander  at  Fort 
Ligonier.  Horrible  Indian  massacres  and  terrible 
retributions  by  the  settlers  were  the  chief  features 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  in  Westmoreland.  At  its 
close,  the  whites  sent  an  expedition  in  1782  against 
the  Wyandottes,  which  was  defeated.  The  savages 
soon  wreaked  fearful  vengeance,  raiding  the  region 
in  July  of  that  year  and  burning  Hannastown,  which 
was  never  rebuilt.  Greensburg  appeared  soon  after- 
wards, however,  and  in  1875  it  celebrated  the  cen- 
tenary of  the  Hannastown  resolutions  with  patriotic 
spirit.  In  its  Presbyterian  churchyard  lie  the  re- 
mains of  General  St.  Clair,  who,  after  founding  and 
naming  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  returned  here,  and 
died  in  1818,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  in  his  lonely 
cabin  on  Chestnut  Ridge,  in  unmerited  poverty  and 
obscurity.  The  stone  over  his  grave  has  this  sig- 
nificant inscription  :  u  The  earthly  remains  of  Gen- 
eral Arthur  St.  Clair  are  deposited  beneath  this 
humble  monument,  which  is  erected  to  supply  the 
place  of  a  nobler  one  due  from  his  country."  Being 
in  a  region  of  fine  agriculture  and  prolific  mines, 
Greensburg  is  a  prosperous  and  wealthy  town. 


Natural  gas  is  added  to  coal  and  coke  in  the  re- 
gion beyond  Greensburg,  and  the  villages  display 


820     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

flaring  gas  torches  at  night  for  street  lamps.  The 
whole  country,  north,  south  and  west,  is  a  network  of 
railways  and  a  maze  of  mines,  having  long  rows  of 
burning  coke  ovens  lighting  the  sky  with  their  lurid 
glare.  Here  are  mined  the  Westmoreland  gas  coals. 
The  valley  of  the  Monongahela  River,  coming  up 
from  West  Virginia,  approaches  from  the  southward, 
a  great  highway  for  coal  boats  out  to  the  Ohio  and 
the  West,  also  receiving  a  large  coal  tribute  from  its 
branch,  the  Youghiogheny,  flowing  by  crooked 
course  through  Fayette  County.  Alongside  the 
Monongahela  is  the  great  Edgar  Thomson  Steel 
Works,  one  of  the  chief  establishments  of  the  Car- 
negie Steel  Company,  making  railway  rails.  Here  is 
the  famous  Colonial  battlefield  of  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, made  immortal  by  General  Braddock's  defeat 
in  July,  1755.  This  region  was  then  a  thick  forest, 
through  which  an  Indian  trail  coming  over  the  Mo- 
nongahela led  to  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  form- 
ing the  Ohio,  where  the  French  had  established  their 
stockade  and  trading  post  of  Fort  Duquesne.  Brad- 
dock  came  into  this  region  from  beyond  the  moun- 
tains, his  object  being  the  capture  of  the  fort.  His 
defeat,  a  great  event  in  our  Colonial  history,  was  due 
to  his  ignorance  of  the  methods  of  Indian  fighting 
and  his  refusal  to  listen  to  those  who  understood  it  ; 
but  he  paid  the  penalty  with  his  life,  being  shot,  as 
was  believed  at  the  time,  by  one  of  his  own  men, 
after  having  had  five  horses  shot  under  him.     It  was 


THE  GREAT  IRON  CITY.  821 

in  rallying  the  defeated  remnant  that  Washington, 
the  senior  surviving  officer,  won  his  first  military 
laurels.  Braddock  crossed  the  river  and  was  caught 
in  an  ambuscade,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  French  and 
Indians  surprising  and  defeating  his  force  of  about 
twenty-five  hundred  British  regulars  and  Virginia 
Provincial  troops,  the  loss  being  nearly  eight  hun- 
dred. Washington  led  the  remnant  back  to  Vir- 
ginia, carrying  Braddock  about  forty  miles  on  the 
retreat,  when  he  died.  He  was  buried  at  night  in 
the  centre  of  the  road,  Washington  reading  the  Epis- 
copal burial  service  by  torchlight,  and  the  defeated 
army  marched  over  the  grave  to  conceal  its  location 
from  the  enemy.  A  handsome  monument  is  erected 
on  the  battlefield  at  Braddock's.  And  thus,  through 
iron  mills  and  coal  mines,  amid  smoke  and  busy  in- 
dustry, the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  enters  Pittsburg, 
the  "Iron  City." 

THE   GREAT  IRON   CITY. 

The  Monongahela  River  coming  from  the  south- 
ward, and  the  Allegheny  River  flowing  from  the 
northward,  drain  the  western  defiles  of  the  Alleghe- 
nies,  and  at  Pittsburg  unite  to  form  the  Ohio  River. 
Each  comes  to  the  junction  through  a  deeply-cut 
canyon,  and  at  the  confluence  is  a  triangular  flat  upon 
which  the  original  town  was  built.  Like  most  Amer- 
ican rivers,  all  these  have  names  of  Indian  origin. 
Monongahela  is  the  u  river  of  high  banks,  breaking 


822     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

off  in  places  and  falling  down."  Ohio  is  a  Seneca 
word,  originally  pronounced  "  O-hee-o,"  and  meaning 
the  "  beautiful  river  "  or  the  "  fair  water/'  and  Alle- 
gheny in  the  language  of  the  Delawares  has  much 
the  same  signification,  meaning  "  the  fairest  stream." 
All  the  Indians  regarded  the  two  as  really  the  same 
river,  of  which  the  Monongahela  was  a  tributary. 
The  first  white  men  exploring  this  region  were '  the 
French,  who  came  down  from  the  lakes  and  Canada, 
when  they  spread  through  the  entire  Mississippi 
Valley.  In  1753,  however,  Washington  with  a  sur- 
veying party  was  sent  out  by  Virginia  and  carefully 
examined  the  site  of  Pittsburg,  advising,  on  his  re- 
turn, that  a  fort  should  be  built  there  to  check  the  ad- 
vance of  the  French,  and  the  next  year  this  was 
done.  Scarcely  was  it  completed,  however,  when 
the  French  sent  a  summons  to  surrender,  addressed 
"  From  the  Commander-in-chief  of  His  Most  Chris- 
tian Majesty's  troops  now  on  the  Beautiful  River  to 
the  Commander  of  those  of  Great  Britain."  A 
French  force  soon  appeared,  and  the  fort  was  aban- 
doned. This  began  the  French  and  Indian  Colonial 
War  that  continued  seven  years,  the  French  then 
erecting  their  famous  fort  and  trading-post  guarding 
the  head  of  the  Ohio,  which  they  named  after  the 
great  French  naval  commander  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  Marquis  Abraham  Duquesne.  Then  came 
Braddock's  defeat  in  1755,  and  for  some  time  the  re- 
gion was  quiet.   Moravian  missionary  influence,  how- 


THE  GREAT  IRON  CITY.  323 

ever,  had  by  1758  detached  many  of  the  Indians 
from  the  French  interest,  and  after  another  British 
attack  and  repulse,  General  Forbes  came  with  a 
large  force,  and  the  French  abandoned  the  fort  and 
blew  it  up.  Immediately  rebuilt  by  the  English,  a 
Virginia  garrison  occupied  the  post,  and  it  was 
named  Fort  Pitt.  Then  a  larger  fort  was  built  at  a 
cost  of  $300,000  and  garrisoned  by  artillery,  which 
the  enemy  vainly  besieged  in  1763.  The  next  year 
a  town  site  was  laid  out  near  the  fort,  and  in  1770  it 
had  twenty  log  houses.  After  the  long  succession  of 
wars  and  massacres  on  that  frontier  had  ceased,  the 
village  grew,  and  business  began  developing — at 
first,  boat-  and  vessel-building,  and  then  smelting 
and  coal  mining  and  the  manufacture  of  glass.  In 
1812  the  first  rolling-mill  started,  and  the  war  with 
England  in  that  year  caused  the  opening  of  a  cannon 
foundry,  which  became  the  Fort  Pitt  Iron  Works. 
The  village  of  Fort  Pitt  had  become  Pittsburg,  and 
expanded  vastly  with  the  introduction  of  steam,  and 
it  became  an  extensive  steamboat  builder  for  the 
Western  waters.  Railroad  connections  gave  it  re- 
newed impetus ;  natural  gas  used  as  a  manufacturing 
fuel  was  a  wonderful  stimulant ;  and  it  now  conducts 
an  enormous  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
is  the  seat  of  the  greatest  iron,  steel  and  glass  indus- 
tries in  America. 

Few  views  are  more  striking  than  that  given  from 
the  high  hills  overlooking  Pittsburg.   Rising  steeply, 


824     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

almost  from  the  water's  edge,  on  the  southern  bank 
of  the  Monongahela  River,  is  Mount  Washington, 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  Inclined-plane 
railways  are  constructed  up  the  face  of  this  hill,  and 
mounting  to  the  top,  there  is  a  superb  view  over  the 
town.  The  Allegheny  River  comes  from  the  north- 
east and  the  Monongahela  from  the  southeast,  through 
deep  and  winding  gorges  cut  into  the  rolling  table- 
land, and  uniting  form  the  Ohio,  flowing  away  to  the 
northwest  also  through  a  deep  gorge,  although  its 
bordering  ridges  of  hills  are  more  widely  separated. 
Pittsburg  stands  upon  the  low  flat  surface  of  the 
peninsula,  above  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  which  has 
some  elongated  ridgy  hills,  stretching  eastward 
through  the  centre.  Its  situation  and  appearance 
have  thus  not  inaptly  been  compared  to  a  flatiron, 
the  point  being  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  and  these 
ridgy  hills  making  the  handle.  The  city  has  over- 
flowed into  extensive  suburbs  across  both  rivers,  the 
aggregate  population  being  more  than  a  half-million. 
Numerous  bridges  span  the  rivers,  the  narrow  shores 
between  the  steep  hills  bearing  a  mixed  maze  of  rail- 
ways and  factories.  Countless  chimney-smokes  and 
steam-jets  come  up  in  all  directions,  overhanging  the 
town  like  a  pall ;  and  so  impressive  is  the  obscuration, 
combined  with  the  lurid  glare  of  furnaces  and  the 
weird  white  gleam  of  electric  lights,  that  the  elevated 
view  down  into  Pittsburg  seems  a  veritable  pande- 
monium.    So  startling  is  it  on  a  lowering  day  that  it 


PITTSBUEG  DEVELOPMENT.  325 

has  been  pointedly  described  by  one  who  thus  for  the 
first  time  looked  upon  the  "  Smoky  City,"  far  down 
in  its  deep  basin  among  the  high  hills,  as  appearing 
like  "  Hell  with  the  lid  off."  There  are  plenty  of 
railways  in  the  scene,  and  scores  of  odd-looking, 
stumpy-prowed  little  steamboats  built  high  above  the 
water,  having  huge  stern-wheels  to  drive  them,  with 
their  noses  thrust  up  on  the  sloping  levee  along  the 
river  bank,  whereon  is  piled  the  cargoes,  chiefly  of 
iron  products.  The  swift  current  turns  all  the  sterns 
down  stream,  so  that  they  lie  diagonally  towards  the 
shore.  Fleets  of  flat,  shallow  coal  barges  are  moored 
along,  waiting  to  be  made  up  into  tows  for  their 
journey  down  the  Ohio,  as  Pittsburg  has  an  exten- 
sive river  trade,  covering  over  twenty  thousand  miles 
of  Western  waters.  Out  of  the  weird  and  animated 
scene  there  come  all  sorts  of  busy  noises,  forges  and 
trip-hammers  pounding,  steam  hissing,  railroad  trains 
running,  whistles  screeching,  locomotives  puffing, 
bells  ringing,  so  that  with  the  flame  jets  rising,  and 
the  smokes  of  all  colors  blowing  about,  there  is  got  a 
good  idea  of  the  active  industries  of  this  very  busy 
place. 

PITTSBURG   DEVELOPMENT. 

This  wonderful  industrial  development  all  came 
within  the  nineteenth  century.  There  is  still  pre- 
served as  a  relic  of  its  origin  the  little  block- 
house citadel  of  the  old  Fort  Pitt,  down  near  the 
point  of  the  peninsula  where  the  rivers  join.     This 


826     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

has  recently  been  restored  by  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution — a  small  square  building  with 
a  pyramidal  roof.  The  surrounding  stockade  long 
ago  disappeared.  There  is  in  the  Pittsburg  City 
Hall  an  inscribed  tablet  from  Fort  Pitt  bearing  the 
date  1764.  The  old  building,  which  was  the  scene 
of  Pittsburg's  earliest  history,  for  it  stands  almost  on 
the  spot  occupied  by  Fort  Duquesne,  is  among 
modern  mills  and  storehouses,  about  three  hundred 
feet  from  the  head  of  the  Ohio.  Pittsburg,  after  an 
almost  exclusive  devotion  to  manufacturing  and  busi- 
ness, began  some  years  ago  to  cultivate  artistic  tastes 
in  architecture,  and  has  some  very  fine  buildings. 
There  is  an  elaborate  Post-oifice  and  an  interesting 
City  Hall  on  Smithfield  Street  j  but  the  finest  building 
of  all,  and  one  of  the  best  in  the  country,  is  the  mag- 
nificent Romanesque  Court-house,  built  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500,000,  and  occupying  a  prominent  position  on 
a  hill  adjoining  Fifth  Avenue.  There  is  a  massive 
jail  of  similar  architecture,  and  a  "Bridge  of 
Sighs  *  connects  them,  a  beautifully  designed  arched 
and  stone-covered  bridge,  thrown  for  a  passage- 
way across  an  intervening  street.  The  main  tower, 
giving  a  grand  view,  rises  three  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  over  the  architectural  pile,  and,  as  in  Venice,  the 
convicted  prisoner  crosses  the  bridge  from  his  trial 
to  his  doom.  There  are  attractive  churches,  banks 
and  business  buildings,  and  eastward  from  the  city, 
near  Schenley  Park,  is  the  attractive  Carnegie  Li- 


PITTSBUEG  DEVELOPMENT.  327 

brary  and  Museum  in  Italian  Renaissance,  with  a 
capacity  for  two  hundred  thousand  volumes,  a  bene- 
faction of  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  originally  costing 
$1,100,000,  to  which  he  has  recently  added  $1,750- 
000  for  its  enlargement.  The  residential  section  is 
mainly  on  the  hills  east  of  Pittsburg  and  across  the 
Allegheny  River  in  Allegheny  City,  there  being 
many  attractive  villas  in  beautiful  situations  on  the 
surrounding  highlands. 

But  the  great  Pittsburg  attraction  is  the  multitude 
of  factories  that  are  its  pride  and  create  its  pros- 
perity. Some  of  these  are  among  the  greatest  in  the 
world — the  Edgar  Thomson  Works  and  Homestead 
Works  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  the  Duquesne 
Steel  Works,  the  Keystone  Bridge  Company,  and 
others.  The  Edgar  Thomas  mills  make  over  a  mil- 
lion tons  of  rails  a  year,  and  at  Homestead  fifteen 
hundred  thousand  tons  of  steel  will  be  annually  pro- 
duced, this  being  the  place  where  nickel-steel  armor- 
plates  for  the  navy  are  manufactured.  They  largely 
use  natural  gas,  and  employ  at  times  ten  thousand 
men  at  the  two  great  establishments.  The  Duquesne 
Works,  just  above  Homestead  on  the  Monongahela, 
have  the  four  largest  blast  furnaces  in  the  world, 
producing  twenty-two  hundred  tons  of  pig-iron  daily. 
The  Keystone  Bridge  Works  cover  seven  acres,  and 
have  made  some  of  the  greatest  steel  bridges  in  ex- 
istence. The  Westinghouse  Electrical  Works  manu- 
facture the  greatest  dynamos,  including  those  of  the 


828     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

Niagara  Power  Company,  and  the  Westinghouse  Air- 
Brake  Works  is  also  another  extensive  establishment. 
In  the  Pittsburg  district,  covering  about  two  hundred 
square  miles,  the  daily  product  of  mines  and  factories 
is  estimated  at  $6,000,000. 

The  two  men  whose  names  are  most  closely  con- 
nected with  Pittsburg's  vast  industrial  development 
are  Andrew  Carnegie  and  George  Westinghouse, 
Carnegie  was  born  ajt  Dunfermline,  Scotland,  in 
1837,  and  his  father,  a  potter,  brought  him  to  Pitts- 
burg when  eleven  years  old.  He  began  life  as  a  tele- 
graph messenger  boy,  attracted  the  attention  of 
Colonel  Thomas  A.  Scott,  and  was  by  him  brought 
into  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Then 
he  entered  business,  and  became  the  greatest  de- 
veloper of  the  iron  and  steel  industries  of  Pittsburg 
and  its  wealthiest  resident.  He  some  time  ago  sold  out 
his  interests  to  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  in  which 
he  is  largely  interested.  Westinghouse,  born  in  New 
York  State  in  1846,  combined  with  business  tact  the 
genius  of  the  inventor.  He  invented  and  developed 
the  railway  air-brake  now  in  universal  use,  has  es- 
tablished a  complete  electrical  lighting  and  power  sys- 
tem, and  was  the  chief  adapter  of  natural  gas  to 
manufacturing  and  domestic  uses,  being  the  inventor 
of  many  ingenious  contrivances  for  its  introduction 
and  economical  employment.  He  had  a  gas  well 
almost  at  his  door,  for  Pittsburg  overlaid  a  great  de- 
posit.    The  enormous  coal  measures  underlying  and 


COAL,  COKE  AND  GASL  329 

surrounding  the  city  have  been  its  most  stable  basis 
for  industry  and  profit,  as  the  Pittsburg  coal-field  is 
one  of  enormous  output.  The  deposits  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior furnish  the  ores  for  its  furnaces,  and  the  railroad 
development  is  such  that  each  enormous  establish- 
ment now  has  its  special  railroad  to  fetch  in  the  ores 
from  Lake  Erie,  where  they  are  brought  by  vessels. 
Across  in  Allegheny  City,  where  most  of  these  ore- 
bringing  roads  go  out,  about  one  hundred  acres  in 
the  centre  of  the  city  are  reserved  for  the  attrac- 
tive Allegheny  Park,  one  portion  rising  in  a  very 
steep  hill,  almost  at  the  edge  of  the  Allegheny  River. 
Upon  its  top,  seen  from  afar,  stands  a  Soldiers'  Monu- 
ment, a  graceful  column,  erected  in  memory  of  four 
thousand  men  of  Allegheny  County  who  fell  in  the 
Civil  War.  Soldier  statues  guard  the  base,  and  look 
out  upon  the  smokes  and  steam  jets  of  the  busy  city 
below,  and  thousands  climb  up  there  to  enjoy  the 
grand  view. 

COAL,    COKE   AND   GAS. 

The  four  counties  adjoining  Pittsburg  turn  out 
over  thirty  millions  of  tons  of  bituminous  coal  in  a 
year.  'To  carry  this  coal  away,  besides  railways,  the 
city  has  about  a  million  and  a  half  of  tonnage  of  river 
craft  of  various  kinds,  a  greater  tonnage  than  all  the 
Mississippi  River  ports  put  together.  Its  coal  boats 
go  everywhere  throughout  the  Western  water  ways, 
and  two  thousand  miles  down  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi to  New  Orleans.    Its  stumpy  but  powerful  little 


330     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

tugs,  with  their  stern-wheels,  will  safely  convey  fleets 
of  shallow  flatboats,  sometimes  over  twenty  thousand 
tons  of  coal  being  carried  in  a  single  tow.  These  flat- 
boats  are  collected  in  the  rivers  about  Pittsburg, 
waiting  for  the  proper  stage  of  water  on  the  Ohio ; 
and  to  regulate  the  depth  at  the  city  the  curious 
movable  dam  was  constructed  at  Davis's  Island,  four 
miles  below  Pittsburg,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000,  the 
dam  opening  when  necessary  to  let  freshets  through, 
and  having  a  lock  five  hundred  feet  long  and  one 
hundred  and  ten  feet  wide  to  pass  the  boats.  The 
Monongahela  River  above  Pittsburg  has  for  miles  a 
series  of  coal  mines  in  the  high  bordering  banks,  the 
river  being  lined  with  coal  "  tipples,"  which  load  the 
flatboats;  and  it  is  also  provided  with  a  series  of 
dams,  which  aid  navigation  and  divide  the  channel 
into  a  succession  of  "pools."  The  very  crooked 
Youghiogheny  flows  in  at  McKeesport,  fifteen  miles 
above  Pittsburg,  another  river  of  coal  mines,  whose 
name  was  given  as  a  signification  of  its  crookedness  by 
the  matter-of-fact  Indians,  the  word  signifying  "  the 
stream  flowing  a  contrary,  roundabout  course.?  This 
river  comes  northward  out  of  the  chief  coke  district  of 
America,  in  the  flanks  of  the  long  Chestnut  Ridge,  the 
Connellsville  coke  region  sometimes  turning  out  ten 
millions  of  tons  annually  from  its  ovens.  Railways 
run  in  there  on  both  river  banks  to  Connellsville,  a 
town  of  six  thousand  people,  in  the  midst  of  the  coke 
ovens,  and  about  fifty-six  miles  south  of  Pittsburg. 


COAL,  COKE  AND  GAS.  331 

Pittsburg  is  decreasing  its  use  of  natural  gas  for 
manufacturing,  as  the  diminishing  supply  and  greater 
distance  it  has  to  be  brought  are  making  it  too  costly 
for  the  iron  and  glass  works,  which  are  returning 
again  to  coal  and  coke,  but  the  city  is  still  said  to  use 
forty-five  thousand  millions  of  cubic  feet  in  a  year, 
mostly  for  domestic  purposes.  Pittsburg  stands  in  a 
great  but  partly  exhausted  natural-gas  district.  The 
gas  is  stored  under  pressure  beneath  strata  of  rock, 
being  set  free  when  these  are  pierced.  This  is  a 
gaseous  member  of  the  paraffin  series,  of  which 
petroleum  is  a  liquid  member,  and  is  mainly  marsh- 
gas,  the  "  fire-damp  n  of  the  miner.  It  originates  in 
the  decomposition  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  and 
usually  has  but  little  odor,  whilst  its  illuminating 
power  is  low,  but  in  fuel  value  eight  cubic  feet  equal 
one  pound  of  coal.  It  was  first  used  at  Fredonia, 
New  York,  in  1821,  for  lighting  purposes,  being  pro- 
cured from  a  well.  The  natural-gas  region  is  the  part 
of  Pennsylvania  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  extending 
into  New  York,  Ohio  and  West  Virginia  j  and  gas  is 
also  found  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Kentucky  and  Kan- 
sas. It  is  held  under  enormous  pressure  within  the 
pockets  beneath  the  rocks,  and  when  first  reached  in 
drilling,  the  tension  has  been  known  to  equal  a  thou- 
sand pounds  per  square  inch.  It  is  not  uncommon, 
when  a  well  is  drilled,  to  have  all  the  tools  and  casing- 
pipe  blown  out,  while  an  enormous  thickness  of 
masonry  has  to  be  constructed  to  hold  down  the  cap 
Vol.  I.— 15 


832     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

that  covers  the  well.  Its  use  began  in  Pittsburg  in 
1886,  the  chief  field  of  supply  then  being  Murrys- 
ville,  about  twenty  miles  east  of  the  city,  while  there 
are  also  other  fields  southwest  and  east  of  Pittsburg. 
The  pipes  underlie  all  the  streets,  and  a  main  route 
of  supply  is  along  the  bed  of  the  Allegheny  River. 
There  are  said  to  be  about  sixteen  hundred  miles  of 
pipes  laid  down  to  lead  the  gas  to  Pittsburg  from 
the  different  fields. 

PETROLEUM. 

The  great  petroleum  fields  lie  in  and  near  the 
Pittsburg  region,  in  the  basin  of  the  Allegheny  and 
Ohio  Rivers,  and  extend  from  New  York  southwest 
to  West  Virginia,  and  also  into  Ohio.  This  region 
has  had  enormous  yields  in  different  parts  of  the 
river  basin,  the  wells,  however,  ultimately  dwindling 
as  their  supplies  are  drawn  out.  The  petroleum  in- 
dustry, which  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  in  Penn- 
sylvania, has  been  gradually  all  absorbed  by  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  which  is  probably  the  most 
extensive  industrial  combination  in  America,  and  cer- 
tainly the  most  powerful.  Yet  we  are  told  that 
those  financial  magnates  began  their  wonderful 
career  with  .an  aggregate  capital  of  only  $24,000, 
largely  borrowed  money.  There  have  been  forty 
millions  of  barrels  of  petroleum  taken  from  this  great 
basin  in  a  single  year.  The  oil  wells  are  bored  in 
many  places,  south,  southwest,  north  and  northeast 
of  Pittsburg.     The    "Panhandle    Railroad,"    which 


'cC  *«C 


PETROLEUM.  333 

crosses  West  Virginia  to  the  Ohio,  exhibits  many  of 
them.  A  branch  of  this  railroad  goes  to  Canons- 
burg,  and  thence  to  the  town  of  Washington,  on  the 
old  "National  Road,"  thirty  miles  from  Pittsburg. 
At  Canonsburg  was  founded  in  1773  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, in  a  log  cabin,  which  has  now  become  the  Jef- 
ferson Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Washington  is  a  town  of  about  four  thou- 
sand people,  rambling  over  a  pleasant  hilly  region  in 
Southwestern  Pennsylvania,  having  as  its  chief  insti- 
tution Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  also  a 
Presbyterian  foundation,  started  in  1806  in  what 
was  then  a  remote  Scotch-Irish  colony  beyond  the 
mountains.  Near  this  town  in  1888  were  struck  the 
greatest  petroleum  wells  the  world  ever  knew.  One 
of  them,  the  Jumbo  well,  in  sixty  days  after  the  first 
strike  had  poured  out  one  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand barrels  of  oil,  flowing  a  steady  circular  stream 
of  almost  white  oil,  about  five  inches  in  diameter,  at 
the  rate  of  forty-two  hundred  gallons  an  hour.  An- 
other well,  afterwards  bored  not  far  away,  in  its 
freshness  of  infancy  poured  out  sixty-three  hundred 
gallons  an  hour.  Additional  wells  were  bored  with 
almost  the  same  results  j  but  they  all  afterwards 
dwindled,  and  finally  ceasing  a  free  flow,  had  to  be 
pumped.  This  is  the  universal  experience  of  all  the 
oil  regions,  the  u  gushers,"  soon  after  the  great 
strikes,  giving  out,  as  the  store  of  petroleum  in  the 
reservoirs  beneath  becomes  exhausted.     But  all  this 


834     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

shows  how  enormous  is  the  natural  wealth  of  the 
Pittsburg  district — oil,  coal,  coke  and  gas,  with  iron, 
steel  and  glass,  electricity  and  railways,  contributing 
to  the  wonderful  prosperity. 

The  greatest  petroleum  field,  however,  was  up  the 
Allegheny  River,  in  Northwestern  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  first  wells  bored  to  obtain  it  were  sunk  at  Ti- 
tusville,  on  Oil  Creek,  in  1859.  The  early  settlers 
knew  of  the  appearance  of  oil  about  the  headwaters 
of  the  Allegheny  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  name  of  Oil  Creek  was  given  a  stream  for 
this  reason  in  Allegheny  County,  New  York,  and  also 
to  the  one  in  Venango  County,  Pennsylvania.  The 
Indians  had  long  collected  the  oil  on  the  shores  of 
Seneca  Lake  in  New  York,  a  course  that  the  white 
settlers  followed,  and  it  was  for  years  sold  as  a  medi- 
cine by  the  name  of  Seneca  or  Genesee  oil.  When 
its  commercial  value  for  illuminating  purposes  began 
to  be  recognized,  Colonel  E.  L.  Drake  went  to  Titus- 
ville  to  see  if  it  could  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities. He  bored  the  first  well  about  a  mile  south  of 
Titusville,  and  on  August  26,  1859,  the  oil  was 
struck  at  a  depth  of  seventy-one  feet.  The  drill 
suddenly  sunk  into  the  cavity  of  the  rock  beneath, 
and  the  oil  rose  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface. 
A  small  pump  was  introduced  which  brought  out  four 
hundred  gallons  daily,  and  then  a  large  pump,  in- 
creasing the  daily  flow  to  a  thousand  gallons.  Soon 
a  steam-engine  was  applied,  and  the  flow  continued 


ASCENDING  THE  ALLEGHENY.  335 

uninterrupted  for  weeks.  Titusville  had  at  the  time 
three  hundred  people.  Many  wells  were  sunk  in  the 
neighborhood  with  varying  success,  and  the  product 
of  the  Oil  Creek  district  became  so  large  that  the 
market  could  not  absorb  it,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
1861,  with  two  thousand  wells  in  operation,  the  price 
declined  to  twenty-five  cents  per  barrel.  The  two 
great  wells  were  the  Empire,  originally  yielding 
twenty-five  hundred  barrels  daily,  and  the  Phillips, 
nearly  four  thousand  barrels.  In  1863  the  produc- 
tion had  slackened,  but  the  uses  had  expanded,  and 
prices  rose  proportionately.  Vast  fortunes  were  then 
rapidly  made,  and  as  soon  squandered.  In  the  first 
twelve  years  of  the  development  of  this  district, 
which  extended  over  about  four  hundred  square 
miles,  there  were  taken  from  some  four  thousand 
wells  forty-two  millions  of  barrels  of  oil,  which  were 
marketed  for  $163,000,000.  At  first  it  was  carried 
away  by  the  railroads,  of  which  several  sent  branches 
into  the  district,  but  there  have  since  been  laid  ex- 
tensive lines  of  pipes  which  convey  it  in  various  di- 
rections, and  largely  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
for  foreign  export.  When  this  district  was  at  the 
height  of  its  yield  it  produced  four  hundred  millions 
of  gallons  a  year. 

ASCENDING  THE  ALLEGHENY. 

From  Pittsburg,  through  bold  and  pleasing  scenery, 
we  ascend  the  Allegheny  River,  the  broad  channel 


336     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

flowing  grandly  around  stately  bends  enclosed  be- 
tween high  hills.  Thirty  miles  above  Pittsburg  the 
Kiskiminetas  comes  in,  and  in  a  region  of  coal 
mines  and  furnaces  is  found  the  town  of  Kittanning, 
which  retains  the  name  of  the  Indian  village  standing 
there  in  Colonial  days.  This  original  Indian  village 
was  attacked  by  Colonel  Armstrong  and  three  hun- 
dred troops  at  dawn  on  August  8,  1757,  and  the  In- 
dians, who  sided  with  the  French,  refusing  to  sur- 
render, they  were  pretty  much  all  killed  and  their 
village  burnt.  Armstrong's  name  is  preserved  in  the 
county.  Beyond  is  Brady's  Bend,  a  great  curve  of 
the  river,  and  here  are  seen  the  derricks  of  many  de- 
serted oil  wells,  as  the  farther  journey  above  for 
miles  also  discloses.  This  was  the  Modoc  oil  district. 
The  Morrison  well  was  struck  in  1872,  yielding  five 
hundred  barrels  daily,  and  immediately  a  town  was 
laid  out,  not  inappropriately  called  Greece  City,  and 
it  soon  had  a  large  population.  This  was  a  prolific 
oil  region  at  one  time,  and  back  from  the  river  were 
the  well-known  oleaginous  towns  of  Modoc  City, 
Karns  City  and  Petrolia.  The  Allegheny  River 
gradually  leads  us  up  to  Venango  County,  which  was 
the  chief  oil  region.  Franklin,  the  capital  of  the 
county,  has  about  five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is 
built  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  the  site  of  the 
old  French  Fort  Venango,  which  Indian  word  meant 
u  a  guiding  mark  on  a  tree."  It  stood  on  a  command- 
ing ridge,  and  was  one  of  the  chain  of  posts  the 


ASCENDING  THE  ALLEGHENY.  387 

French  built  from  the  lakes  across  to  the  Ohio,  to 
hold  their  possessions,  dating  from  1753.  The  French 
had  a  large  garrison  there,  but  after  Canada  was  cap- 
tured the  English  got  possession,  and  in  1763  it  was 
the  scene  of  a  terrible  massacre,  the  Indians  taking 
it,  murdering  the  entire  garrison,  and  slowly  roasting 
the  commandant  to  death. 

Five  miles  above,  Oil  Creek  flows  into  the  Alle- 
gheny, and  here  is  Oil  City,  the  petroleum  head- 
quarters. It  has  had  a  varying  history,  being  once 
almost  destroyed  by  flood  and  twice  by  fire,  but 
maintains  its  supremacy  and  is  a  complete  oil  town 
— the  air  filled  with  petroleum  odors,  and  the  lower 
streets  saturated  with  the  fluid.  On  the  Allegheny, 
nine  miles  from  Oil  City,  is  Oleopolis,  and  a  short 
distance  inland  is  Pithole  City,  which  was  one  of  the 
famous  oil  towns  whose  rise  and  decline  were  so  phe- 
nomenal. A  few  farmers  here  tried  to  get  a  scanty 
subsistence  from  the  rocky  and  almost  barren  soil, 
where,  on  a  hill,  there  was  a  fissure  two  to  four  feet 
wide,  called  the  "  pithole,"  from  which  came  out  at 
intervals  hot  air  and  bad  smells.  This  was  on  the 
Holmden  farm,  which  had  been  nominally  valued  at 
five  dollars  an  acre.  Somebody  thought  he  detected 
the  smell  of  oil  among  the  odors  coming  up,  and  a 
well  was  bored.  It  struck  oil  in  the  winter  of  1864- 
65,  and  was  the  greatest  strike  made  down  to  that 
time — the  United  States  Well  yielding  seven  thou- 
sand barrels  daily.     Multitudes  flocked  thither,  and 


338     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

in  six  months  Pithole  City  arose  in  the  wilderness 
with  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  two  theatres,  an 
opera  house,  a  daily  newspaper,  and  seventy-two 
hotels  of  various  degrees.  Numerous  wells  were 
sunk,  and  the  oil  sold  at  $5  to  $8  per  barrel,  being 
readily  sent  to  the  seaboard.  The  Holmden  farm 
was  soon  sold  for  $4,000,000.  There  were  some 
amazing  speculative  trades  made.  The  story  is  told 
of  a  well  striking  oil  and  a  speculative  bystander  at 
once  buying  a  three-fourths  interest  in  it  for  $18,000, 
agreeing  to  pay  the  money  next  day.  Turning  away 
from  the  seller,  he  met  a  man  seeking  such  an  invest- 
ment, and  promptly  resold  his  interest  for  $75,000, 
receiving  immediate  payment.  The  yield  of  this  re- 
gion was  so  prolific  that  railroads  and  pipe  lines  were 
soon  constructed  to  carry  the  oil  away.  Pithole  had 
its  great  boom  in  the  autumn  of  1866,  wells  being 
bored  in  every  direction,  and  real  estate  fetching 
enormous  prices.  One  old  fellow  who  had  a  few 
acres  of  arid  land  in  the  centre  of  the  excitement  sold 
his  farm  and  hovel  for  $800,000,  paid  him  on  the  spot 
in  $1000  notes ;  and  then  he  sorrowfully  bemoaned, 
as  he  took  a  last  look  at  the  hovel  he  had  occupied 
all  his  life,  "  Now  I  haint  got  any  home."  The  rise 
of  this  wonderful  town  was  rapid,  and  its  downfall 
came  all  too  soon.  The  oil  supply  became  exhausted, 
the  speculators  left,  the  inhabitants  dwindled  in  num- 
ber, and  by  1870  Pithole  had  reverted  almost  to  its 
original  condition.     The  chief  hotel,  which  had  cost 


ASCENDING  THE  ALLEGHENY.  339 

$31,000  to  build,  was  afterwards  sold  for  $100,  and 
the  population  had  declined  in  1873  to  nine  families. 
The  valley  of  Oil  Creek  is  filled  with  derricks  and 
oil  tanks,  having  a  few  pumping  engines  at  work,  but 
most  of  the  derricks  are  over  abandoned  wells.  Eigh- 
teen miles  up  Oil  Creek  is  Titusville,  and  when  the 
oil  yield  was  at  its  height,  about  1865,  this  valley 
had  a  population  of  seventy-five  thousand  people. 
Titusville  is  pleasantly  built  in  the  broadened  inter- 
vale, surrounded  by  hills,  the  streets  being  wide  and 
straight,  and  the  residences  comfortable,  each  in  its 
garden  enclosure.  There  are  oil  refineries,  and  iron 
works  which  make  engines,  tubing  and  other  sup- 
plies ;  and  the  town,  which  has  eight  thousand  people, 
is  a  headquarters  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 
Twenty-seven  miles  farther  northward  is  Corry,  a 
prominent  railroad  centre,  at  the  northern  entrance 
to  the  Pennsylvania  H  Oil  Dorado,"  as  the  region  has 
been  popularly  called.  Its  name  of  Corry  was  that 
of  the  farmer  who  originally  cultivated  the  soil  when 
the  place  became  a  railway  station  in  1861,  and  the 
location  of  oil  refineries  then  began  its  prosperity. 
There  are  now  about  six  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  New  York  State  boun- 
dary, and  marks  the  northern  limit  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia oil  region.  This  whole  district,  once  the  promi- 
nent petroleum  field  of  Pennsylvania,  has  been 
eclipsed,  however,  by  other  and  more  prolific  oil 
basins.     Fortunes  were  made  here,  but  most  of  the 


340      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

wealth  passed  away ;  and  the  history  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania petroleum  trade  and  its  vicissitudes,  with  the 
absorption  of  everything  of  value  by  the  Standard 
Oil  Company,  has  emphasized  the  truth  so  pointedly 
told  by  Robert  Burns,  that  "  The  best  laid  schemes 
o'  mice  an'  men  gang  aft  a-gley."  Its  wonderful 
tide  of  prosperity  and  its  subsequent  ebb  recall  Shel- 
ley's lines  "  To  Men  of  England": 

' '  The  seed  ye  sow  another  reaps  ; 
The  wealth  ye  find  another  keeps ; 
The  robes  ye  weave  another  wears; 
The  arms  ye  forge  another  bears." 


VISITING  THE  SUNNY  SOUTH. 


.  v. 

VISITING  THE  SUNNY  SOUTH. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh — Boanoke  Island — Virginia  Dare — Potatoes- 
Tobacco— Carolina — Cape  Hatteras — Cyclones — Wilmington 
— Fort  Fisher — Blockade  Kunning — Charleston — Palmetto 
Trees — John  C.  Calhoun — Fort  Moultrie — Osceola's  Grave — 
Fort  Sumter — Opening  of  the  Civil  War — The  Swamp  Angel 
— St.  Michael's  Church — Port  Koyal— Savannah — General 
Oglethorpe— Count  Pulaski — Fort  Pulaski — Bonaventure 
Cemetery — Okifenokee  Swamp — Jacksonville — The  Alligator 
— Oranges— Land  of  Flowers— Juan  Ponce  de  Leon — Ferdi- 
nand de  Soto — The  Huguenots — Pedro  Menendez— Dominique 
de  Gourgues — Florida  Peculiarities — Cumberland  Sound — St 
Mary's  River — Cumberland  Island— Jeky  11  Island — Amelia 
Island  —  Fernandina  —  Dungeness  —  General  Greene — Light 
Horse  Harry — St.  Augustine — Matanzas  River— Anastasia 
Island — Coquina — Fort  San  Marco — Fort  Marion — Grand 
Hotels — Dade's  Massacre — Coa-coo-chee,  the  Wildcat — Or- 
mond — Daytona — New  Smyrna — The  Southern  Cassadega — 
Indian  River — Titusville — Rockledge — Fort  Pierce — Jupiter 
Inlet — Palm  Beach — Miami — Biscay ne  Bay — St.  John's  River 
— Mandarin — Palatka — Ocklawaha  River — Lake  Apopka — 
Lake  Eustis  Region — Ocala — The  Silver  Spring — Navigating 
the  Ocklawaha — Lake  George — Volusia — Lake  Monroe — En- 
terprise— Sanford — Winter  Park — Orlando — Lake  Tohopeka- 
liga — Kissimmee  River — Lake  Okeechobee — The  Everglades 
— Lake  Arpeika — The  Seminoles — Suwanee  River — Cedar 
Key— Tallahassee — Achille  Murat— Wakulla  Spring— Appa- 
lachicola — Pensacola — Homosassa — Tampa — Charlotte  Har- 
bor— Punta  Gorda—  Caloosahatchie  River — Fort  Myers — 
Cape  Romano — Cape  Sable — Florida  Keys — Coral  Building 
—The  Gulf  Stream— Key  West— Fort  Taylor— Sand  Key- 
Dry  Tortugas — Fort  Jefferson — Florida  Attractions. 

(343) 


344     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
CAROLINA. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  of  chivalrous  memory,  sent 
the  first  English  colony  to  America  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  He  was  a  half-brother  of  Sir  Humphrey 
Gilbert,  the  English  explorer,  and  had  previously  ac- 
companied Gilbert  to  Newfoundland.  He  sent  out 
an  expedition  in  1584,  which  selected  Eoanoke 
Island,  south  of  the  Chesapeake,  for  a  settlement, 
and  for  this  enterprise  Queen  Elizabeth  knighted 
Raleigh,  gave  him  a  grant  of  the  whole  country,  and 
directed  that  the  new  land  be  named  in  her  honor, 
Virginia.  In  1585-86  colonizing  expeditions  were 
sent  to  Roanoke,  but  they  did  not  prosper.  The 
colonists  quarrelled  with  the  Indians,  and  in  the  latter 
year  the  Governor  returned  to  England  for  provisions 
and  reinforcements,  leaving  behind  with  the  colony 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Dare,  and  a  granddaughter,  nine 
days  old,  Virginia  Dare,  the  first  English  child  born 
in  the  new  land.  Then  came  the  Spanish  Armada  to 
conquer  England,  and  the  long  war  with  Spain.  No- 
body went  to  succor  the  little  band  of  exiles  on  Roan- 
oke Island  for  three  years,  and  when  they  did,  the  set- 
tlement was  obliterated,  the  hundred  colonists  and 
little  Virginia  Dare  had  disappeared,  and  no  tidings 
of  them  were  ever  obtained.  Thus  perished  Raleigh's 
colony  j  and,  his  means  being  exhausted,  he  was  dis- 
couraged and  sent  no  more  expeditions  out  to 
America.     His  enterprise  failed  in  making  a  perma- 


CAROLINA.  345 

nent  settlement,  but  it  gave  two  priceless  gifts  to 
Europe.  The  returning  Governor  took  back  to  Eng- 
land the  potato,  which  Raleigh  planted  on  his  Irish 
estate  and  which  has  proved  the  salvation  of  old 
Erin,  and  also  the  Virginia  tobacco,  which  he  taught 
the  people  to  smoke,  and  the  fragrant  weed  became 
the  solace  of  the  world. 

No  further  attempts  at  colonization  were  made 
until  the  seventeenth  century,  when  new  grants  were 
issued,  and  the  country  was  named  Carolina  in  honor 
of  King  Charles  I.  The  Atlantic  Coast  south  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  entrance  is  low  and  bordered  by 
sand  beaches,  which  for  most  of  the  distance  in  front 
of  North  Carolina  are  far  eastward  of  the  mainland, 
with  broad  sounds  and  river  estuaries  between. 
These  long  and  narrow  beaches  protrude  in  some 
cases  a  hundred  miles  into  the  ocean  and  form  dan- 
gerous shoals,  the  extensive  Albemarle  and  Pamlico 
Sounds  being  enclosed  by  them,  the  former  stretch- 
ing fifty  miles  and  the  latter  seventy-five  miles  into 
the  land.  Out  in  front  of  Pamlico  Sound  projects 
the  shoulder  of  Cape  Hatteras  into  the  Atlantic,  the 
outer  point  of  a  low,  sandy  island,  with  shoals  ex- 
tending far  beyond  it,  and  marked  by  the  great 
beacon  of  this  dangerous  coast,  a  flashing  light  one 
hundred  and  ninety  feet  high.  Here  is  the  principal 
storm  factory  of  the  southern  coast,  noted  for  cyclonic 
disturbances  and  dreaded  by  the  mariner.  Upon  the 
outer  Diamond  Shoals  the  Government  has  long  tried 


346     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

in  vain  to  erect  a  lighthouse.  A  lightship  is  kept 
there,  but  is  frequently  blown  from  her  moorings  and 
drifts  ashore.  The  Gulf  Stream,  coming  with  warm 
and  speedy  current  up  from  Florida,  is  here  diverged 
out  into  the  ocean  by  the  shoulder  of  Hatteras ;  and, 
similarly,  the  whirling  West  India  cyclones  of  enor- 
mous area  come  along  with  their  resistless  energy, 
destroying  everything  in  their  paths.  In  the  terrific 
hurricane  of  the  autumn  of  1899  a  wind  velocity  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  an  hour  was  reached 
momentarily,  and  the  anemometer  at  Hatteras  was 
blown  down  after  having  recorded  a  velocity  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles.  The  actual  force  exerted 
by  one  of  these  great  cyclones  in  its  work  of  devas- 
tation, which  uproots  trees,  demolishes  buildings  and 
strews  the  coast  with  wrecks,  has  been  calculated  as 
equalling  one  thousand  million  horse-power. 

WILMINGTON   AND   PORT   FISHER. 

The  interior  of  North  Carolina  adjoining  the  Sounds 
is  largely  swamp  land,  and  the  broad  belt  of  forest, 
chiefly  pines,  which  parallels  the  coast  all  along  the 
Atlantic  seaboard.  Through  this  region  the  railway 
extends  southward  from  Virginia  past  Weldon  to 
Wilmington,  an  uninteresting  route  among  the 
swamps  and  pine  lands,  showing  sparse  settlement 
and  poor  agriculture,  the  wood  paths  exhibiting  an 
occasional  ox-team  or  a  stray  horseman  going  home 
with  his  supplies  from  the  cross-roads  store,  a  typical 


WILMINGTON  AND  FORT  FISHER.  347 

representative  of  the  "  tar-heels  of  Carolina."  The 
railway  crosses  the  deep  valley  of  Roanoke  River, 
and  then  over  the  Tar  and  Neuse  Rivers,  traversing 
the  extensive  district  that  provides  the  world's  great- 
est supply  of  naval  stores — the  tar,  pitch,  turpentine, 
rosin  and  timber  that  are  so  largely  shipped  out  of 
the  Cape  Fear  River  from  Wilmington.  This  is  the 
chief  city  of  North  Carolina,  having  about  twenty 
thousand  people,  and  is  located  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River  twenty-six  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  city 
spreads  along  the  eastern  shore  upon  the  peninsula 
between  it  and  the  ocean.  The  first  settlement  ante- 
dates the  Revolution,  when  the  inhabitants,  who  were 
sturdy  patriots,  drove  out  the  royal  Governor  and 
made  Fort  Johnson,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  an 
American  stronghold.  Upon  the  secession  of  the 
Carolinas  in  1860-61  this  fort  was  occupied  by  the 
Confederates  and  replaced  by  the  larger  work  on 
Federal  Point,  between  the  river  and  the  sea,  known 
as  Fort  Fisher.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  location  and 
ease  of  entrance,  the  Cape  Fear  River  became  famous 
in  the  Civil  War  as  a  haven  for  blockade-runners, 
the  effective  defense  made  by  Fort  Fisher  fully  pro- 
tecting this  traffic.  As  the  Union  blockade  of  the 
Southern  harbors  became  more  completely  effective 
with  the  progress  of  the  war,  this  finally  was  about 
the  only  port  that  could  be  entered,  and  an  enormous 
traffic  was  kept  up  between  Wilmington  and  Nassau, 
on  the  British  island  of  New  Providence,  in  the  Ba- 


848     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

hamas,  not  far  away,  some  three  hundred  fleet  for- 
eign steamships  safely  running  the  blockade  into 
Cape  Fear  River  during  1863  and  1864.  The  no- 
toriety of  this  traffic,  from  which  enormous  profits 
were  made,  became  world-wide,  and  it  was  decided 
late  in  1864  that  Fort  Fisher  had  to  be  captured,  in 
order  to  make  the  Southern  blockade  entirely  effec- 
tive. A  joint  land  and  naval  attack  was  made  by 
General  Butler  and  Admiral  Porter  in  December, 
1864,  but  they  were  obliged  to  retire  without  seri- 
ously damaging  the  fort.  Then  General  Butler  in- 
effectively attempted  to  blow  up  the  fort  by  explod- 
ing a  powder-boat  near  it.  Finally  a  new  expedition 
was  landed  in  January,  1865,  under  General  Terry, 
and  in  cooperation  with  the  navy,  which  made  a  fierce 
bombardment,  they  captured  the  fort  on  the  15th, 
after  severe  loss,  the  works  being  partially  destroyed 
the  following  day  by  the  accidental  explosion  of  the 
powder  magazine.  This  capture  ended  the  blockade- 
running  at  Wilmington,  and  had  much  to  do  with 
precipitating  the  fall  of  Richmond  in  the  following 
April. 

CHARLESTON   AND   FORT   SUMTER. 

The  railway  from  Wilmington  to  the  South  at  first 
goes  westward  through  a  region  largely  composed  of 
swamps,  and  then  entering  South  Carolina  turns 
southward  past  Florence  to  Charleston.  The  country 
is  a  variation  of  pine  barrens  and  morass,  sparsely 
inhabited,  but  raising  much  cotton,  with  many  bales 


CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.     349 

brought  to  the  stations  for  shipment.  There  is  a 
much  larger  population  of  blacks  than  of  whites. 
Charleston,  the  metropolis  of  South  Carolina,  is  an 
active  seaport  with  sixty -five  thousand  inhabitants, 
having  a  good  export  trade  in  cotton,  timber,  naval 
stores,  rice,  fruits  and  phosphate  rock,  of  which  there 
are  extensive  deposits  on  Ashley  River  nearby.  It 
is  a  low-lying  city,  built  upon  a  peninsula  between 
the  Ashley  and  Cooper  Rivers,  just  inland  from  the 
ocean,  and  having  a  good  harbor.  Its  many  wooden 
houses  are  varied  by  more  pretentious  ones  of  brick 
and  stone,  but  there  is  an  air  of  decadence  produced 
by  the  traces  still  remaining  of  the  earthquake  of 
1886,  which  destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  build- 
ings and  killed  many  people.  The  dwelling  archi- 
tecture of  Charleston  presents  the  tropical  features 
of  open  verandas,  spacious  porticos  and  broad  win- 
dows looking  out  upon  gardens  in  which  the  palmetto 
tree  grows,  typical  of  South  Carolina,  the  "  Palmetto 
State."  At  the  point  of  the  peninsula  between  the 
rivers  is  the  Battery,  a  park  and  popular  promenade 
overlooking  the  harbor,  with  Fort  Sumter  down  on  its 
little  shoal-like  island,  seen  as  a  small  dark  streak 
upon  the  distant  horizon.  The  first  settlements  in 
this  part  of  South  Carolina  were  made  on  the  west 
bank  of  Ashley  River,  but  the  town,  which  had  been 
named  in  honor  of  King  Charles  II.,  in  1680  was 
transferred  to  its  present  site.  Charleston  was  promi- 
nent in  the    Revolution,  its   troops   under   Colonel 


350     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Moultrie  repelling  a  British  attack  upon  Sullivan's 
Island  in  1776 ;  but  the  city  was  captured  by  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  in  1780  after  an  obstinate  defense. 
Before  the  Civil  War  it  was  the  chief  cotton-ship- 
ping port  of  America,  though  it  is  now  surpassed  by 
the  Gulf  ports  and  by  Savannah.  The  great  memory 
in  the  city  of  that  time  of  its  greatest  prosperity  is 
of  the  apostle  of  "  State  Rights,"  the  South  Carolina 
statesman,  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  died  in  1850.  His 
statue  stands  in  Citadel  Square,  and  his  grave  is  in 
St.  Philip's  churchyard. 

The  broad  estuary  of  Charleston  harbor  is  com- 
pletely landlocked,  and  has  an  entrance  from  the  sea 
about  a  mile  wide.  On  the  southern  side  is  Fort 
Moultrie,  which  was  enlarged  from  the  battery  that 
repulsed  the  British  attack  in  1776,  on  Sulli van's 
Island,  this  now  being  a  favorite  summer  resort,  and 
dotted  with  wooden  cottages  facing  the  sea.  Just 
behind  the  fort  is  the  grave  of  Osceola,  the  famous 
chief  of  the  Seminoles,  who  long  carried  on  war  in 
the  Florida  everglades,  but  was  captured  and  brought 
a  prisoner  to  Fort  Moultrie,  dying  in  1838.  Fort 
Sumter,  three  miles  below  Charleston,  stands  upon  a 
shoal  of  about  three  acres,  out  in  mid-channel,  which 
is  protected  from  the  water  encroachment  by  stone 
rip-rapping.  It  was  faced  with  brick  during  the 
Civil  War,  but  the  work  has  since  been  modernized. 
At  the  opening  of  the  war,  Major  Anderson  occupied 
this  fort  with  the  small  force  of  seventy-five  men, 


CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.  351 

which,  after  the  secession  of  South  Carolina  from  the 
Union,  December  20,  1860,  had  been  transferred 
thither  from  Fort  Moultrie,  the  State  troops  imme- 
diately seizing  Moultrie  and  all  the  other  forts  around 
the  harbor,  and  the  Federal  public  buildings  in 
Charleston.  They  also  constructed  new  batteries  on 
Morris  Island,  the  nearest  land  to  Fort  Sumter.  On 
January  9,  1861,  the  Government  at  Washington 
sent  the  steamer  u  Star  of  the  West  ?  into  the  harbor 
with  provisions  and  a  reinforcement  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  troops.  The  first  shot  of  the  Civil  War  was 
on  that  day  fired  at  her  from  Morris  Island,  and  the 
ship  being  struck  by  this  and  subsequent  shots,  her 
commander  abandoned  the  project  and  withdrew. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  negotiation  and  delay  after- 
wards, the  Government,  on  April  8th,  finally  deter- 
mining to  provision  Fort  Sumter,  as  Anderson's 
supplies  would  be  exhausted  on  the  15th,  and  so  in- 
forming the  Governor  of  South  Carolina.  On  the 
11th,  General  Beauregard,  commanding  the  State 
forces,  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  which  was 
refused.  Major  Anderson  was  notified  early  next 
morning  that  the  fort  would  be  fired  upon  in  one 
hour,  and  cannonading  began  at  4.20  A.M.  on  the  12th. 
A  fleet  of  vessels  appeared  off  the  harbor  at  noon  with 
provisions,  exchanged  signals  with  the  fort,  but  made 
no  attempt  to  land,  and  on  the  13th  terms  of  surrender 
were  arranged  by  which  Major  Anderson  and  his 
little  command  marched  out  on  the  14th  with  the 


352     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

honors  of  war,  saluting  the  American  flag  with  fifty 
guns.  This  bombardment  and  evacuation  set  the 
North  in  a  blaze  of  patriotic  excitement  and  began 
the  Civil  War. 

The  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  attacked 
Fort  Sumter  in  April,  1863,  but  were  repulsed,  the 
monitor  "  Keokuk n  being  so  seriously  injured  that 
she  afterwards  sunk.  Subsequently,  the  Union  troops 
landed  on  Morris  Island,  erected  batteries,  and  in 
August  partly  destroyed  the  works  at  Sumter  j  and 
its  bombardment,  and  also  that  of  Charleston,  con- 
tinued with  but  brief  intermission  till  the  war  closed 
in  1865.  On  Morris  Island  was  set  up  the  original 
"long-range  gun,"  General  Gillmore's  "Swamp 
Angel,"  now  adorning  a  drinking-fountain  at  Tren- 
ton, New  Jersey  j  and  its  ability,  until  it  unfortu- 
nately burst,  to  shoot  its  bolts  into  Charleston,  then 
regarded  as  an  almost  impossible  distance  to  carry  a 
projectile,  attracted  the  attention  of  gunnery  experts 
throughout  the  world.  Its  conspicuous  mark  was  the 
white  spire  of  St.  MichaePs  Church  up  in  the  be- 
leaguered city.  This  famous  old  church,  dating  from 
1752,  was  struck  six  times  during  these  attacks  and 
seriously  damaged.  It  was  also  partly  demolished 
by  a  cyclone  in  1885,  and  nearly  destroyed  by  the 
earthquake  of  1886 ;  but  it  has  been  since  restored, 
and  its  prominent  steeple  commands  a  good  view. 
Charleston,  however,  seems  to  have  always  been  used 
to  this  sort  of  thing.     Its  statue   of  William  Pitt  in 


THE  CITY  OF  SAVANNAH.  353 

front  of  the  City  Hall  had  the  right  arm  broken  off  by 
a  British  cannon-shot  in  1780.  But  if  the  city  is  thus 
somewhat  in  dilapidation,  its  grand  development  of 
foliage  and  flowers  gives  a  compensation.  Everywhere 
in  the  suburbs  and  in  the  streets  and  gardens  are  seen 
magnificent  azaleas,  magnolias,  camellias,  and  the  fa- 
mous live  oak,  which  flourish  in  luxuriance  and  add  to 
the  charms  of  this  restful  South  Carolina  metropolis. 

THE   CITY  OF   SAVANNAH. 

The  seacoast  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  is 
composed  largely  of  deeply  indented  bays,  with 
many  islands,  tortuous  bayous,  and  a  labyrinth  of 
water  ways  bordered  by  dense  vegetation.  South- 
ward from  Charleston  harbor  to  the  Savannah  River 
many  creeks  provide  a  system  of  inland  navigation 
and  form  fertile  islands.  There  are  two  capacious 
Sounds,  St.  Helena  and  Port  Royal,  the  latter  being 
one  of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  world,  and  the  ren- 
dezvous of  the  American  North  Atlantic  naval 
squadron  when  in  these  waters.  This  was  the  place 
of  first  landing  of  the  original  South  Carolina  colo- 
nists before  they  went  to  the  Ashley  River,  and  its 
chief  town  now  is  Beaufort,  on  St.  Helena  Island. 
These  coast  islands  raise  the  famous  "sea-island 
cotton,"  and  the  whole  lowland  region  produces  pro- 
lific crops  of  rice.  The  adjacent  land  is  generally 
swampy,  and  its  chief  industry,  outside  of  cultivat- 
ing the  fields,  is  the  working  of  the  extensive  phos- 


354     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

phate  deposits,  which  are  manufactured  into  fertil- 
izers. The  railway,  largely  constructed  on  piles, 
passes  through  much  marsh  and  morass,  crosses 
swift-running  dirty  streams,  and  over  the  swamps 
and  among  the  pine  timber,  varied  by  the  oak,  bay 
tree  and  laurel,  which  the  humid  atmosphere  has 
hung  with  garlands  of  sombre  gray  moss  and  clusters 
of  ivy  and  other  creeping  plants.  The  festooned 
moss,  overrunning  and  often  destroying  the  foliage 
of  the  trees,  gives  the  scene  a  weird  and  ghostly  ap- 
pearance. The  railway  route  is  bordered  by  an  ap- 
parently almost  impenetrable  jungle,  the  few  settle- 
ments are  widely  separated,  and  population  is  sparse, 
seeming  to  be  chiefly  negroes  dressed  in  ancient- 
locking  clothing  ornamented  with  patches.  The  few 
whites  who  appear  are  bilious  and  yellowish,  their 
complexions  and  garb  being  alike  of  the  butternut 
hue,  while  both  races  seem  to  talk  the  same  dialect. 
Thus  moving  farther  southward,  the  Carolina  "tar- 
heels  w  are  replaced  by  the  "  crackers  "  and  "  butter- 
nuts," looking  as  if  they  had  been  rolled  for  a  gen- 
eration in  the  clayey"  soils  drained  by  the  Edisto, 
Coosawhatchie  and  Savannah  Rivers  and  their  neigh- 
boring streams,  and  who,  farther  inland,  are  the 
"clay-eaters"  of  Georgia.  Then  crossing  the  Sa- 
vannah River,  the  route  is  upon  the  level  lowlands 
down  its  Georgia  bank,  and  into  the  city  of  Savan* 
nah,  arriving  amid  a  vast  collection  of  rosin  and  pitch 
barrels,  cotton  bales  and  timber. 


THE  CITY  OF  SAVANNAH.  355 

Savannah — derived  from  the  Spanish  word  sabana} 
a  "  meadow  or  plain  * — is  known  popularly  as  the 
"  Forest  City,"  and  is  built  upon  a  bluff  along  the 
river  shore,  eighteen  miles  from  the  sea.  It  has 
fifty  thousand  people  and  a  large  export  trade  in 
naval  stores,  rice,  timber  and  cotton,  in  the  latter  ex- 
port being  second  only  to  New  Orleans.  It  received 
great  impetus  after  the  Civil  War,  owing  to  its  ex- 
cellent railway  connections  with  the  interior,  and  is 
now  the  chief  port  of  the  Southern  Atlantic  coast. 
The  city  extends  upon  a  level  sandy  plain,  stretch- 
ing back  from  the  bluff  shore  along  the  river,  has 
broad  streets  crossing  at  right  angles,  with  small 
parks  at  the  intersections,  and  many  trees  border 
the  streets  and  fill  the  parks,  so  that  it  is  fairly 
embowered  in  foliage,  thus  presenting  an  attractive 
and  novel  appearance.  This  adornment  makes  Sa- 
vannah the  most  beautiful  city  of  the  coast — the  oak, 
palmetto  and  magnolia,  with  the  holly,  orange,  creep- 
ing ivy  and  clustering  vines,  setting  the  buildings  in 
a  framework  of  delicious  green.  The  business  quar- 
ter is  along  the  bluff,  where  the  ships  moor  alongside 
the  storehouses,  which  have  their  upper  stories  on  a 
level  with  the  busy  Bay  Street  at  its  top.  Much  of 
the  present  beauty  of  the  city  is  due  to  the  foresight 
of  its  founder  who  laid  out  the  plan — General  Ogle- 
thorpe, who  selected  this  place  in  1733  for  the  capi- 
tal of  his  Province  of  Georgia,  the  youngest  of  the 
original  thirteen  colonies. 
Vol.  I.— 16 


856     AMEKICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

General  James  Edward  Oglethorpe  was  a  native 
of  London  and  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  who, 
being  of  philanthropic  tendencies,  obtained  a  grant 
of  the  Province  from  King  George  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  an  asylum  for  the  poor  debtors  of  Eng- 
land and  a  home  for  the  Protestants  of  all  nations. 
After  founding  the  city  and  receiving  a  colony  of 
Protestants  from  Salzburg,  he  visited  England  and 
brought  out  John  and  Charles  Wesley  in  1735,  and 
got  George  Whitefield  to  come  and  preach  to  the 
colonists  in  1737.  War  breaking  out  with  Spain,  he 
attacked  Florida,  carrying  his  invasion  to  the  gates 
of  St.  Augustine,  but  was  repulsed.  He  returned  to 
England  in  1743,  but  though  he  lived  until  1785  as 
a  retired  general  upon  half-pay,  he  never  revisited 
America.  The  British  captured  Savannah  in  the 
Revolution,  and  repulsed  a  combined  French  and 
American  attempt  to  recapture  it  in  1779.  In  this 
attack  Count  Pulaski  fell,  and  the  spot,  now  Monterey 
Square,  near  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  marked  by 
the  Pulaski  Monument,  one  of  the  noblest  shafts  in 
America.  Count  Pulaski  is  the  patron  saint  of  Sa- 
vannah, and  Fort  Pulaski,  named  in  his  honor,  guards 
the  Savannah  River  entrance  from  the  sea.  During 
the  Civil  War,  however,  this  fort  was  practically  use- 
less, as  it  was  captured  by  the  Unionists  in  1862, 
and  Tybee  Roads,  the  harbor  at  the  entrance,  was 
hermetically  sealed  throughout  the  war  by  the  block- 
ading fleet.     General  Sherman's  triumphant  march 


THE  CITY  OF  JACKSONVILLE.  357 

through  Georgia  ended  in  December,  1864,  at  Sa- 
vannah, and  his  headquarters  are  still  pointed  out, 
opposite  Madison  Square.  Savannah  has  a  fine 
pleasure-ground  in  Forsyth  Park,  with  its  wealth  of 
trees  and  ornamental  shrubbery,  and  the  adjoining 
Parade  Ground  containing  the  Confederate  Soldiers' 
Monument.  The  favorite  route  to  the  southern  sub- 
urbs is  the  famous  Thunderbolt  Shell  Road  leading  to 
Thunderbolt  River,  and  noted  for  its  avenues  of  live 
oaks  draped  with  Spanish  moss.  Here  is  also  the 
favorite  burial-place,  the  Bonaventure  Cemetery, 
where  the  graves  and  tombstones  are  laid  out  along- 
side passages  embowered  by  live  oaks,  their  wide- 
stretching,  gaunt  and  angular  limbs  being  richly  gar- 
landed with  the  gray  moss  and  encircled  by  creeping 
ivy.  The  long  vista  views  under  these  sombre  arch- 
ways have  an  elfish  look,  peculiarly  appropriate  for  a 
city  of  the  dead,  and  it  would  take  little  imagination 
to  conjure  up  the  spirits  of  the  departed  and  see  them 
wandering  beneath  these  canopies  of  shrouds. 

THE   CITY  OP  JACKSONVILLE. 

Southward  from  Savannah,  the  railway  route  to 
Florida  renews  the  monotonous  landscape  of  woods 
and  swamps.  For  ninety  miles  it  goes  in  an  almost 
straight  line  southwest  through  the  pine  belt  of 
Southern  Georgia,  crossing  the  Ogeechee  and  Alta- 
maha  Rivers  to  Way  cross,  and  then,  turning  to  the 
southeast,  proceeds  in  another  almost  straight  line 


358      AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

for  about  an  equal  distance  towards  the  coast,  and 
crosses  St.  Mary's  River  into  Florida.  It  traverses 
the  edge  of  the  noted  Okifenokee  Swamp  of  Georgia, 
the  Indian  "  weaving,  shaking,  water,"  a  moist  and 
mushy  region  of  mystery  and  legend,  drained  by  the 
poetic  Suwanee,  the  Indian  "  Echo  river,"  which  has 
been  made  the  theme  of  a  favorite  melody.  This 
stream  flows  through  Florida  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
while  on  the  eastern  side  the  extensive  swamp  over- 
flows into  the  winding  St.  Mary's  River  leading  to 
the  Atlantic.  To  the  southward,  the  pine  woods  of 
Florida  grow  out  of  a  sandy  soil  nearly  as  level  as  a 
floor,  in  which  almost  every  depression  and  fissure 
seems  filled  with  water,  and  the  balsamic  odors  of 
these  pines,  combined  with  the  mildness  of  the  winter 
climate,  give  an  indication  of  the  attractions  which 
make  Florida  so  popular  as  a  resort  for  the  Northern 
people.  The  route  finally  reaches  the  broad  St. 
John's  River  at  the  Florida  metropolis,  Jacksonville, 
a  Yankee  city  in  the  South,  bearing  the  name  of  the 
famous  President,  General  Andrew  Jackson,  and 
having  thirty  thousand  population,  largely  of  North- 
ern birth.  This  is  the  centre  of  the  railway  system 
of  Florida  and  of  most  of  the  business  of  the  State, 
having  a  large  export  trade  in  timber,  naval  stores, 
phosphates,  oranges  and  other  Florida  products.  To 
the  visitor,  probably  the  first  most  forcible  impres- 
sion is  made  by  the  free  growth  of  oranges  along 
the   streets  and   in   the  house    gardens.     The  city 


THE  CITY  OF  JACKSONVILLE.  359 

stands  upon  the  northern  and  outer  bank  of  a  mag- 
nificent bend  of  St.  John's  River,  this  noble  stream, 
which  flows  northward  from  Southern  Florida,  being 
a  mile  wide,  and  sweeping  around  to  the  eastward  at 
Jacksonville  to  reach  the  sea  about  twenty-five  miles 
beyond,  its  navigation  having  been  improved  by 
dredging  and  constructing  jetties  to  maintain  a  chan- 
nel through  the  bar  at  the  mouth.  The  business  sec- 
tion is  near  the  shore,  and  the  railways  come  down 
to  the  wharves ;  while,  as  the  curving  river  stretches 
away  to  the  southward,  the  bank  is  lined  with  rows 
of  fine  suburban  villas,  occupied  by  the  business  men 
who  have  built  their  comfortable  homes  amid  the 
oranges,  oleanders,  magnolias  and  banana  trees.  The 
river  has  low  tree-clad  shores,  and  far  over  on  the 
opposite  bank  are  more  villas  and  orange  groves. 

Jacksonville  is  well  supplied  with  hotels  and  lodg- 
ing-houses, which  accommodate  the  crowds  of  winter 
visitors  from  the  North,  and  it  spreads  into  various 
suburban  villages  reached  by  steamboats  and  hard 
shell  roads.  It  is  the  great  entrepdt  for  Florida, 
standing  at  the  northern  verge,  the  salubrious  and 
equable  climate  being  the  attraction,  for  frost  is  rare, 
and  the  winters  are  usually  clear  and  dry  and  give  a 
most  magnificent  atmosphere.  Rows  of  splendid 
oaks  line  the  streets,  and  form  fine  archways  of 
green,  giving  a  delicious  shade.  Besides  the  orange, 
the  alligator  is  also  a  Jacksonville  attraction,  live 
ones  being  kept  as  pets,  little  ones  sent  northward  in 


360     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

boxes  for  gifts,  and  dead  ones  of  all  sizes  prepared 
for  ornaments.  This  reptile  is  the  type  and  emblem 
of  Florida  j  his  skin  and  teeth  are  worked  into  fan- 
tastic shapes,  and  his  curious  bones  and  formation  do 
duty  in  the  make-up  of  many  "  Florida  curiosities." 
In  fact,  outside  of  the  timber,  which  is  most  prolific, 
the  best  known  Florida  crops  are  the  alligator  and 
the  orange.  Although  frosts  have  killed  many  in- 
late  years,  yet  the  product  of  the  orange  trees  is 
still  large,  Southern  Florida  containing  the  most 
famous  orange  groves,  especially  along  the  Indian 
River  and  on  the  lakes  of  the  upper  St.  John's 
River,  where  they  are  usually  planted  on  the  south- 
ern borders  of  the  lakes,  so  that  the  frost  is  killed  by 
the  winds  carrying  it  over  the  water,  and  thus  the 
orange  trees  are  protected. 

THE    LAND   OF   FLOWERS. 

In  the  early  sixteenth  century  there  flourished  a 
valiant  Spaniard  of  noble  birth,  a  grandee  of  Ara- 
gon,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  conquest  of  Grenada, 
Don  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon.  He  had  accompanied 
Columbus  on  one  of  his  American  voyages,  and  in 
1510  was  appointed  Governor  of  Puerto  Rico.  The 
bold  Don  Juan  had  become  somewhat  worn  by  a  life 
of  dangerous  buccaneering  and  romantic  adventure, 
and  being  rather  advanced  in  years  he  was  losing 
the  attractiveness  which  had  long  added  charms  to 
his  gallantries.     From  the  Indians  of  Puerto  Rico  he 


THE  LAND  OF  FLOWEES.  361 

heard  of  an  island  off  to  the  northwestward,  which 
they  called  Bimini,  and  he  listened  with  wonder  and 
constantly  increasing  interest  to  the  tales  they  told 
of  an  extraordinary  and  miraculous  spring  which  it 
contained  that  would  restore  youth  to  the  aged  and 
health  to  the  decrepit — the  "  Fountain  of  Perpetual 
Youth."  They  described  it  as  being  in  a  region  of 
surpassing  beauty,  and  said  there  were  found  abun- 
dant gold  and  many  slaves  in  this  land  of  promise. 
The  rugged  old  warrior  was  fired  with  the  prospect 
of  restored  youth,  and  soon  secured  from  the  king  a 
grant  of  Bimini.  In  March,  1513,  he  sailed  with  a 
large  expedition  from  Puerto  Rico,  discovered  some 
of  the  Bahama  Islands,  coasted  along  the  mainland  to 
latitude  30°  8'  north,  and  on  Easter  Sunday,  April 
8th,  landed  a  short  distance  south  of  St.  John's 
River  and  took  possession,  calling  the  country 
Florida,  from  "  Pasqua  Florida,"  the  Spanish  name 
for  the  day.  He  did  not  find  the  magic  spring,  how- 
ever, but  he  did  discover  a  fairy  scene,  a  land  filled 
with  a  profusion  of  fruits  and  flowers.  Though  he 
subsequently  diligently  searched  for  it,  he  unfortu- 
nately never  found  the  miraculous  fountain.  He  ex- 
plored the  Gulf  Coast,  and  returned  to  the  quest 
again  in  1521,  when  he  got  into  quarrels  with  the 
Indians,  was  mortally  wounded  in  a  combat,  and 
went  back  to  Cuba  to  die. 

Another  Spanish  grandee,  fired  with  zeal  for  gold 
and   conquest,  appeared  upon  the  scene  somewhat 


362     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

later  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Ferdinand  de  Soto, 
a  native  of  Jerez,  whose  only  heritage  was  his  sword 
and  shield,  had  accompanied  various  expeditions  to 
Darien  and  Nicaragua,  and  in  1532  joined  Pizarro  in 
the  conquest  of  Peru,  where  he  acquired  great  wealth, 
with  which  he  returned  to  Spain.  Soon  after,  being 
anxious  for  more  adventure,  he  was  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  Cuba  and  Florida,  and  given  a  commission 
to  explore  and  settle  the  Spanish  possessions  in  the 
latter  country,  then  including  the  whole  northern 
coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  May,  1539,  he  sailed 
from  Havana  with  a  large  fleet  and  six  hundred  men, 
coasted  around  Florida  and  landed  at  Tampa  Bay  on 
the  Gulf  side,  where  his  explorations  ashore  began  in 
July.  Fabulous  stories  had  been  told  him  of  the 
wealth  of  the  country  by  those  who  had  been  there, 
and  De  Soto's  plan  was  to  go  everywhere  in  search 
of  gold.  He  captured  Indians  for  guides,  and  found 
a  Spaniard,  Juan  Ortiz,  whom  they  had  taken  cap- 
tive several  years  before,  but  who  was  now  living 
with  them  as  a  friend,  knew  their  language  and  be- 
came interpreter.  Then  De  Soto,  by  his  aid,  began 
a  most  difficult  exploration,  advancing  through  thick 
woods,  north  and  east,  amid  tangled  undergrowth, 
over  bogs  and  marshes,  crossing  rivers  and  lakes, 
fighting  the  Indians  who  resented  his  cruelties,  for 
he  made  them  his  slaves  and  bearers  of  burdens,  tor- 
tured and  killed  them  if  they  resisted.  But  he  found 
no  gold,  though  he  pushed  steadily  onward,  and  turn- 


THE  LAND  OF  FLOWERS.  363 

ing  westward  in  the  quest,  his  numbers  growing 
smaller  and  the  survivors  weaker  under  the  weight 
of  their  privations.  He  travelled  a  long  distance, 
crossing  Northern  Florida  and  Georgia  into  the  Caro- 
linas,  and  probably  to  Tennessee,  descending  the  Ala- 
bama River,  and  having  a  battle  with  the  Indians 
near  Mobile  Bay  in  October,  1540;  then  turning 
again  northward,  crossing  the  Mississippi  River, 
which  he  discovered  in  May,  1541,  near  the  Chicka- 
saw Bluffs,  exploring  it  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  and  then  turning  southward  he  sailed  down 
the  river,  and  finally  died  of  fever  near  the  mouth  of 
Red  River  in  May,  1542.  During  the  three  years* 
wanderings  nearly  half  his  force  had  perished  in  bat- 
tle, or  of  privation  and  disease.  The  Indians  were 
in  awe  of  him  and  believed  him  immortal,  and  a  panic 
therefore  seized  his  surviving  followers,  who  feared 
annihilation  if  the  savages  discovered  that  De  Soto 
was  dead.  So  they  quietly  buried  him  at  night, 
from  a  boat  in  midstream,  sinking  the  corpse  in  the 
great  Father  of  Waters.  Discouraged  and  almost 
hopeless,  his  followers  managed  to  build  some  small 
vessels,  and  the  next  year  arrived  safely  in  Mexico. 
Neither  of  these  expeditions  succeeded  in  coloniz- 
ing Florida,  but  they  left  a  feeling  of  hatred  among 
the  Indians,  caused  by  the  Spanish  cruelties,  which 
always  afterwards  existed.  In  1564  some  French 
Huguenots,  led  by  Rene  de  Loudonniere,  attempted 
making  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  St.  John's  River, 


364     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  built  Fort  Caroline  there.  News  of  this  reached 
Spain,  and  in  1565  another  colonization  expedition 
was  sent  out  under  Don  Pedro  Menendez  d'Aviles, 
which  set  sail  from  Cadiz,  and  on  St.  Augustine's 
Day,  August  28th,  landed  not  far  from  where  Ponce 
de  Leon  had  made  his  first  invasion,  and  founded  a 
colony  which  he  named  St.  Augustine,  in  honor  of 
his  day  of  arrival.  As  soon  as  Menendez  was  estab- 
lished on  shore  he  attacked  the  Huguenots  at  St. 
John's  River,  and  hanged  such  of  them  as  had  es- 
caped being  killed  in  the  battle,  declaring  that  he  did 
this  because  they  were  Protestants.  Some  of  them 
who  had  been  away  from  the  fort  at  the  time  were 
afterwards  shipwrecked  near  St.  Augustine,  and  these 
he  also  captured  and  put  to  death.  The  French  Fort 
Caroline  was  then  garrisoned  by  the  Spaniards,  its 
name  changed  to  Fort  San  Mateo,  and  they  also  for- 
tified with  redoubts  both  sides  of  the  river  entrance. 
The  story  of  the  atrocities  of  Menendez  was  received 
with  indignation  in  France,  but  the  King,  controlled 
by  intrigue,  dared  do  nothing,  such  was  his  fear  of 
the  power  of  Spain. 

Full  vengeance  was  afterwards  taken,  however. 
Dominique  de  Gourgues,  a  French  gentleman  of 
Mont-de-Marsan,  who  hated  the  Spaniards  with  a 
mortal  hatred,  took  up  the  quarrel,  sold  his  inherit- 
ance, borrowed  money,  and  equipped  a  small  expe- 
dition of  three  vessels  and  one  hundred  and  eighty 
men.     He  concealed  his  real  object,  and  sailing  for 


THE  LAND  OF  FLOWERS.  365 

some  time  through  the  tropical  seas,  finally  came  to 
Cuba,  when  he  first  made  known  his  purpose  to  his 
followers.  He  landed  at  St.  Mary's  River,  opening 
communication  with  the  Indians,  and  a  joint  attack 
upon  the  Spaniards  to  the  southward  was  arranged. 
In  May,  1568,  the  fort  and  redoubts  at  St.  John's 
River  were  stormed  and  taken,  a  few  Spaniards  being 
captured  alive,  all  the  rest  having  been  slain  in  the 
combat.  Gourgues  was  shown  nearby  the  trees 
whereon  Menendez  had  hanged  the  French  prisoners 
when  he  first  took  the  fort,  having  placed  over  them 
the  inscription  "  Not  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  Luther- 
ans." He  hanged  his  Spanish  prisoners  on  the  same 
trees,  and  over  them  was  also  nailed  an  inscription, 
burned  with  a  hot  iron  on  a  tablet  of  pine,  "  Not  as 
Spaniards,  but  as  Traitors,  Robbers  and  Murderers." 
Gourgues'  mission  of  vengeance  was  fulfilled.  His 
Indian  allies  demolished  the  fort  and  the  redoubts  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  He  then  sailed  home  with 
his  expedition,  landing  at  Rochelle  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  where  the  Huguenots  greeted  him  with 
all  hon^r,  and  whilst  he  was  scorned  at  court  and 
lived  for  some  years  in  obscurity,  Queen  Elizabeth 
showed  him  great  favor ;  and  as  he  was  going  over- 
land to  join  the  army  of  Portugal  to  once  more  fight 
his  enemies,  the  Spaniards,  he  fell  ill  at  Tours  and 
died.  The  French  made  no  more  attempts  at  settle- 
ment in  Florida,  and  the  Spaniards  afterwards  pos- 
sessed it,  though  frequently  being  at  war  with  the 


366     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

English.  Spain  finally  ceded  the  "  Land  of  Flowers  " 
to  the  United  States,  which  took  final  possession  in 
1821. 

SOME  FLORIDA   PECULIARITIES. 

Florida  is  a  strange  region,  yet  most  attractive. 
The  traveller  regards  its  surface  as  mainly  a  monot- 
onous level  of  forest  and  swamp,  with  fruit  and  floral 
embellishments,  but  it  in  fact  rises  by  an  almost  in- 
sensible ascent  from  the  coast  towards  the  interior, 
where  there  is  a  central  summit  ridge  all  along  the 
peninsula  of  about  three  hundred  feet  elevation,  cov- 
ered with  pine  woods.  Most  of  the  surface,  how- 
ever, is  but  a  few  feet  above  the  sea-level,  these 
"flatlands,"  as  they  are  called,  being  grass-grown 
savannahs,  pine  woods,  swamps  and  cabbage-palm 
thickets.  The  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  is  the 
region  of  the  everglades,  which  have  been  formed  by 
successive  dykes  of  coral,  built  by  the  industrious 
little  insect  long  ago.  The  upper  part  of  this  region 
is  occupied  by  the  extensive  but  shallow  waters  of 
Lake  Okeechobee,  which  merges  insensibly  into  the 
everglades  south  and  east,  the  Seminoles  calling  this 
grass-grown  and  spongy  region,  which  is  still  the 
abode  of  some  remnants  of  the  tribe,  Pa-ha-yo-kee, 
meaning  "  much  grass  in  water."  These  everglades 
are  penetrated  in  all  directions  by  tortuous  water 
channels  of  slight  depth ;  and  at  frequent  intervals 
in  the  whole  district  there  are  wooded  islands  possess- 
ing fertile  soils  and  covered  with  dense  tropical  veg- 


SOME  FLOEIDA  PECULIAEITIES.  367 

etation.  These  islands  are  said  to  have  been  sur- 
rounded by  the  sea  in  bygone  ages,  and  they  then 
stood  in  the  same  relation  to  the  mainland  as  do  the 
present  Southern  Florida  reefs  and  keys.  Wide 
tracts  of  cypress  swamp  separate  the  everglades 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  while  in  Southern  Florida 
they  approach  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast,  being  separated  by  an  intervening  dyke  of 
coral,  crossed  by  frequent  streams  of  rapid  current, 
for  the  everglades  are  far  from  being  stagnant 
swamps.  There  are  also  many  other  extensive 
swamps  in  the  State. 

The  Florida  seacoast  is  usually  protected  by  sand 
beaches  which  are  quite  hard,  and  are  separated 
from  the  mainland  by  interior  lagoons.  The  man- 
grove and  the  coral,  constantly  growing,  are  ever  en- 
croaching, however,  on  the  sea-waters,  and  thus 
Florida  seems  to  have  been  constructed.  The  coun- 
try is  full  of  water  courses,  lakes  and  springs,  some 
of  the  latter  being  regarded  as  among  the  most  re- 
markable in  the  world,  the  famous  Silver  Spring  near 
Ocala  being  estimated  as  discharging  three  hundred 
millions  of  gallons  daily.  There  are  countless  springs 
along  the  coasts,  and  one  of  these  bursts  up  in  the 
sea  near  St.  Augustine,  two  miles  off  shore,  with  a 
torrent  so  vigorous  that  the  ocean  waves  break  over 
the  column  of  fresh  water  as  if  it  were  a  sunken 
reef.  Scientific  investigators  are  amazed  at  the  vast 
amounts  of  water  everywhere  visible  and  discharged 


868     AMERICA,  PICTURE8QUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

from  these  springs,  and  with  only  the  narrow  and  low 
peninsula  for  a  watershed,  the  problem  as  to  where 
the  vast  water  supply  comes  from  baffles  solution. 
Some  of  the  Florida  lakes  are  subject  to  remarkable 
fluctuations  of  level,  and  one  of  them,  Lake  Jackson, 
ran  suddenly  dry  at  the  time  of  the  Charleston  earth- 
quake in  1886,  but  after  a  few  weeks  the  water  began 
returning,  and  it  soon  resumed  its  natural  proportions. 

CUMBERLAND    SOUND. 

The  memory  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  son  of 
King  George  II.,  the  victor  of  the  battle  of  Cul- 
loden,  in  Scotland,  where  he  defeated  the  Pretender 
in  1746,  is  preserved  in  America  in  the  name  of 
Cumberland  Sound,  the  finest  harbor  on  the  Southern 
Atlantic  Coast.  St.  Mary's  River,  coming  out  of 
Okifenokee  swamp  to  make  the  northern  boundary 
of  Florida,  flows  an  erratic  course,  boxing  the  com- 
pass in  every  direction  until  it  finally  heads  eastward 
and  debouches  in  Cumberland  Sound,  among  a  group 
of  islands  forming  a  large  landlocked  harbor.  This 
river  and  sound,  the  boundary  between  Georgia  and 
Florida,  were,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  a  disputed 
frontier  between  the  English  and  the  Spaniards.  To 
the  northward  of  the  entrance  from  the  sea  is  Cum- 
berland Island  in  Georgia,  then  comes  Jekyll  Island, 
with  its  magnificent  club-house  and  elaborate  cot- 
tages, and  then  St.  Simon's  Bay,  having  as  its  chief 
port  the  busy  lumber-shipping  town  of  Brunswick. 


CUMBEELAND  SOUND.  369 

To  the  southward  of  the  Cumberland  entrance  is 
Amelia  Island  in  Florida.  The  sound  behind  Amelia 
and  Cumberland  Islands  is  a  magnificent  roadstead, 
capable  of  floating  at  safe  anchorage  an  enormous 
fleet.  Amelia  Island  is  a  long,  narrow  sand  bank 
with  much  foliage  upon  it,  stretching  about  fourteen 
miles  down  the  Florida  coast  to  Nassau  Sound.  On 
the  sea  front  of  this  island  is  one  of  the  finest  sand 
beaches  on  the  Atlantic.  Behind  it  is  the  arm  of  the 
sea  known  as  Amelia  River,  and  the  port  of  Fer- 
nandina,  thirty-six  miles  northeast  of  Jacksonville, 
having  at  the  point  of  the  island,  guarding  the  en- 
trance to  its  harbor,  old  Fort  Clinch,  a  superannuated 
brick-work  battery,  formerly  of  great  importance, 
but  now  of  little  use,  though  it  was  somewhat 
strengthened  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  recent 
Spanish  War. 

The  French  Huguenots  first  came  along  here  and 
settled,  as  they  did  at  the  St.  John's  River  entrance, 
and  they  called  the  island  Garde.  They  found  here 
a  powerful  Indian  tribe,  whose  chief,  the  u  Cacique 
of  Garde,"  their  historian  described  as  u  handsome 
and  noble,"  and  his  queen  as  "  beautiful  and  modest," 
and  the  same  authority  says  they  had  "  five  hand- 
some daughters."  The  French  were  engaged  in  des- 
ultory quarrels  with  the  Spaniards  south  of  them  at 
St.  Augustine,  and  the  young  gallants  of  the  colony? 
in  the  intervals  of  the  warfare,  alternately  courted 
and  jilted  the  Indian  maidens,  the  result   being   a 


370     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

savage  attack  and  massacre ;  and  finally,  between 
Indian  and  Spanish  enmity,  the  settlement  disap- 
peared. But  the  English,  made  of  sterner  stuff,  ul- 
timately came  along,  settling  Georgia,  and  giving 
British  names  to  the  islands,  the  rivers  and  the 
Sound,  which  they  still  retain.  For  a  long  time  this 
was  disputed  territory  between  the  English  and  the 
Spaniards,  the  latter  claiming  everything  northward 
to  Carolina.  General  Oglethorpe  marched  through 
here  to  attack  St.  Augustine,  and  in  1763  the  British 
held  Amelia  Island,  extending  the  little  fort  to  almost 
its  present  proportions,  and  laying  out  a  town  behind 
it,  while  to  the  southward  the  Countess  of  Egmont 
established  an  indigo  plantation,  which  flourished  for 
a  brief  period.  Spain  ultimately  got  the  island,  and 
it  came  into  American  possession  with  Florida  in 
1821.  A  little  town  with  sandy  streets,  a  pretty 
park,  much  foliage,  delicious  air  bringing  the  balsam 
of  the  pines  and  the  tonic  of  the  sea,  and  hotels  ac- 
commodating the  influx  of  winter  visitors,  make  up 
the  Fernandina  of  to-day.  Its  beach  on  the  ocean 
front,  more  than  a  mile  away,  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
existence,  hard  as  a  floor,  level  and  broad,  stretching 
as  far  as  eye  can  see,  and  having  a  grand  surf 
booming  upon  it. 

On  Cumberland  Island  is  the  estate  of  Dungeness. 
General  Nathaniel  Greene  of  Rhode  Island,  one  of 
Washington's  most  trusted  officers,  was  the  com- 
mander of  the  Revolutionary  armies  in  the  South  in 


ANCIENT  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  371 

1780-81  which  drove  the  British  out  of  that  section, 
gained  the  victory  of  Cowpens  in  South  Carolina,  and 
compelled  the  withdrawal  of  Cornwallis  to  Yorktown, 
which  ended  in  his  surrender.  After  the  close  of  the 
war,  in  gratitude  for  his  great  services,  the  people  of 
Georgia  presented  him  with  this  estate  of  about  ten 
thousand  acres.  He  made  it  his  home  for  a  time,  but 
it  afterwards  passed  away  from  his  family,  and  being 
neglected,  the  old  coquina  stone  mansion  was  burnt. 
The  house  has  since  b#en  reconstructed,  and  a  pic- 
turesque avenue  of  moss-hung  live  oaks  a  mile  long 
stretches  over  the  island  near  it  to  the  sea.  In  a  lit- 
tle cemetery  on  the  estate  are  the  graves  of  General 
Greene's  widow  and  daughter.  Here  is  also  the 
grave  of  "Light  Horse  Harry"  of  the  Revolution 
(the  father  of  General  Eobert  E.  Lee),  who  died  abroad 
in  1818.  He  had  visited  and  loved  Dungeness, 
and  requested  to  be  buried  there.  Oaks  and  pal- 
mettos embower  these  modest  graves,  which  are 
carefully  preserved. 

ANCIENT   ST.   AUGUSTINE. 

St.  Augustine,  thirty-six  miles  southeast  of  Jack- 
sonville, on  the  seacoast,  is  the  oldest  city  in  the 
United  States,  founded  by  Menendez  in  1565,  and 
existing  to  this  day  with  the  characteristics  of  a 
Spanish  town  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  have 
been  also  reproduced  in  the  architecture  of  most  of  the 
newer  buildings.    A  small  inlet  from  the  ocean,  about 


372     AMEKICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

fifteen  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  St.  John's  River, 
stretches  its  arms  north  and  south,  the  latter  arm, 
called  Matanzas  River,  seeking  the  sea  again  about 
eighteen  miles  below.  It  thus  forms  Anastasia  Island, 
sheltering  the  harbor  like  a  breakwater,  and  behind 
it  the  city  is  built,  being  protected  by  a  sea-wall 
nearly  a  mile  long,  built  of  coquina  or  shell-stone. 
Another  arm  of  the  sea,  called  San  Sebastian  River, 
is  a  short  distance  inland,  so  that  the  town  site  is 
really  upon  a  peninsula.  About  five  thousand  people 
reside  permanently  in  St.  Augustine,  a  few  of  Span- 
ish descent,  and  more  of  them  the  offspring  of  a 
colony  of  Minorcans  who  came  in  1769,  but  in  winter 
the  Northern  visitors  to  the  palatial  hotels  swell  the 
population  to  over  ten  thousand.  The  town  is  built 
on  a  level  sandy  plain,  and  the  older  streets  are  nar- 
row, being  only  a  few  feet  wide  and  without  side- 
walks. The  projecting  balconies  of  some  of  the  an- 
cient houses  almost  touch  those  opposite.  The  old 
streets  are  paved  with  coquina  and  the  old  houses 
are  built  of  it,  this  curious  shell-limestone,  quarried 
on  Anastasia  Island,  hardening  upon  exposure  to  the 
air.  A  few  streets  running  north  and  south,  crossed 
by  others  at  right  angles,  and  a  broader  front  street 
bordered  by  the  sea-wall  which  makes  a  fine  prome- 
nade, compose  the  town.  This  sea-wall  of  coquina 
is  capped  with  granite,  and  was  built  after  the  Ameri- 
can occupation  of  the  city.  At  its  northern  end  is 
Fort  Marion  and  at  the  southern   end  St.  Francis 


ANCIENT  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  373 

Barracks,  the  United  States  military  post,  so  named 
because  it  occupies  the  site  of  the  old  Convent  of  St. 
Francis,  having  some  of  its  coquina  walls  incorporated 
in  the  present  structure.  The  harbor  in  front,  which 
in  past  centuries  sheltered  so  many  Spanish  fleets 
and  those  of  Spanish  enemies  as  well,  is  now  chiefly 
devoted  to  yachting. 

When  Menendez  and  his  Spaniards  first  landed 
they  built  a  wooden  fort  commanding  the  harbor  en- 
trance, surrounded  by  pine  trees,  which  they  named 
San  Juan  de  Pinos.  This  was  afterwards  replaced 
by  Fort  San  Marco,  constructed  of  coquina,  which 
was  nearly  a  hundred  years  building,  and  was  fin- 
ished in  1756.  Upon  the  transfer  of  Florida  to  the 
United  States  this  became  Fort  Marion.  It  is  a  well- 
preserved  specimen  of  the  military  architecture  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  built  on  Vauban's  system,  cover- 
ing about  four  acres,  with  bastions  at  the  corners, 
each  protected  by  a  watch-tower,  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  moat,  the  walls  being  twenty-one  feet  high. 
The  fort  is  in  reasonably  good  preservation,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  constructed  mainly  by  the  labor  of 
Indians.  ,  It  took  so  long  to  build  and  cost  so  much 
under  the  wasteful  Spanish  system  that  one  sovereign 
wrote  that  it  had  almost  cost  its  weight  in  gold  j  yet  it 
was  regarded  then  as  supremely  important  to  be  fin- 
ished, being  the  key  to  the  Spanish  possession  of 
Florida.  Over  the  sally-port  at  the  drawbridge  are 
carved  the  Spanish  arms  and  an  inscription  recording 


874     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

the  completion  of  the  fort  in  1756,  when  Ferdinand 
VI.  was  King  of  Spain  and  Don  Hereda  Governor  of 
Florida.  It  mounted  one  hundred  of  the  small  guns 
of  those  days,  and  the  interior  is  a  square  parade 
ground,  surrounded  by  large  casemates.  Upon 
each  side  of  the  casemate  opposite  the  sally-port 
is  a  niche  for  holy  water,  and  at  the  farther  end 
the  Chapel.  Dungeons  and  subterranean  passages 
abound,  of  which  ghostly  tales  are  told.  This  fort 
is  the  most  interesting  relic  of  the  ancient  city,  a 
picturesque  place,  with  charms  even  in  its  dilapida- 
tion. 

There  are  other  quaint  structures  in  this  curious 
old  town.  A  gray  gateway  about  ten  feet  wide, 
flanked  by  tall  square  towers,  marks  the  northern 
entrance  to  the  city,  the  ditch  from  the  fort  passing 
in  front  of  it.  In  one  of  the  streets  is  the  palace  of 
the  Spanish  Governors,  since  changed  into  a  post- 
office.  The  official  centre  of  the  city  is  a  public 
square,  the  Plaza  de  la  Constitucion,  having  a  monu- 
ment commemorating  the  Spanish  Liberal  Constitu- 
tion of  1812,  and  also  a  Confederate  Soldiers7  Monu- 
ment. This  square  fronts  on  the  sea-wall,  and 
alongside  it  and  stretching  westward  is  the  Alameda, 
known  as  King  Street,  leading  to  the  group  of  grand 
hotels  recently  constructed  in  Spanish  and  Moorish 
style,  which  have  made  modern  St.  Augustine  so 
famous.  These  are  the  Ponce  de  Leon,  the  Alcazar 
and  the  Cordova,  with  the  Casino,  adjoined  by  spa- 


ANCIENT  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  375 

cious  and  beautiful  gardens.  These  buildings  repro- 
duce all  types  of  the  Hispano-Moorish  architecture, 
with  many  suggestions  from  the  Alhambra.  The 
Ponce  de  Leon,  the  largest,  is  three  hundred  and 
eighty  by  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  enclosing 
an  open  court,  and  its  towers  rise  above  the  red-tiled 
roofs  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet, 
the  adornments  in  colors  being  very  effective.  To 
the  southward  of  the  town,  adjoining  the  barracks^  is 
the  military  cemetery,  where  a  monument  and  three 
white  pyramids  tell  the  horrid  story  of  the  Dade  mas- 
sacre during  the  Seminole  War.  Major  Dade,  a  gal- 
lant officer,  and  one  hundred  and  seven  men,  were 
ambushed  and  massacred  by  eight  hundred  Indians 
in  December,  1835,  and  their  remains  afterwards 
brought  here  and  interred  under  the  pyramids.  Op- 
posite the  barracks  is  what  is  claimed  to  be  the  oldest 
house  in  the  United  States,  occupied  by  Franciscan 
monks  from  1565  to  1580,  and  afterwards  a  dwelling. 
It  has  been  restored,  and  contains  a  collection  of  his- 
torical relics. 

St.  Augustine  has  had  a  chequered  history.  In 
1586,  Queen  Elizabeth's  naval  hero,  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  sailing  all  over  the  world  to  fight  Spaniards, 
attacked  and  plundered  the  town  and  burnt  the 
greater  part  of  it.  Then  for  nearly  a  century  the 
Indians,  pirates,  French,  English  and  neighboring 
Georgians  and  Carolinians  made  matters  lively  for 
the  harried  inhabitants.     In  1763  the  British  came 


376     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

into  possession,  but  they  ceded  it  back  to  Spain 
twenty  years  later,  the  town  then  containing  about 
three  hundred  householders  and  nine  hundred  ne- 
groes. It  became  American  in  1821,  and  was  an 
important  military  post  during  the  subsequent  Semi- 
nole War,  which  continued  several  years.  It  was 
early  captured  by  the  Union  forces  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  was  a  valuable  stronghold  for  them.  This 
curious  old  town  has  many  traditions  that  tell  of  war 
and  massacre  and  the  horrible  cruelties  of  the  Span- 
ish Inquisition,  the  remains  of  cages  in  which  pris- 
oners were  starved  to  death  being  shown  in  the  fort. 
Its  best  modern  story,  however,  is  told  of  the  escape 
of  Coa-coo-chee,  the  Seminole  chief,  whose  adventur- 
ous spirit  and  savage  nature  gained  him  the  name  of 
the  "  Wild  Cat."  The  ending  of  the  Seminole  War 
was  the  signing  of  a  treaty  by  the  older  chiefs  agree- 
ing to  remove  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Coa-coo-chee, 
with  other  younger  chiefs,  opposed  this  and  renewed 
the  conflict.  He  was  ultimately  captured  and  taken 
to  Fort  Marion.  Feigning  sickness,  he  was  removed 
into  a  casemate  giving  him  air,  there  being  an  aper- 
ture two  feet  high  by  nine  inches  wide  in  the  wall 
about  thirteen  feet  above  the  floor,  and  under  it  a 
platform  five  feet  high.  Here,  while  still  feigning 
illness,  he  became  attenuated  by  voluntary  abstinence 
from  food,  and  finally  one  night  squeezed  himself 
through  the  aperture  and  dropped  to  the  bottom  of 
the  moat,  which  was  dry.     Eluding  all  the  guards,  he 


THE  FLOEIDA  EAST  COAST.       377 

escaped  and  rejoined  his  people.  The  flight  caused 
a  great  sensation,  and  ihere  was  hot  pursuit.  After 
some  time  he  was  recaptured,  and  being  taken  before 
General  Worth,  was  used  to  compel  the  remnant  of 
the  tribe  to  remove  to  the  West.  Worth  told  him  if 
his  people  were  not  at  Tampa  in  twenty  days  he 
would  be  killed,  and  he  was  ordered  to  notify  them 
by  Indian  runners.  He  hesitated,  but  afterwards 
yielded,  and  the  runners  were  given  twenty  twigs, 
one  to  be  broken  each  day,  so  they  might  know 
when  the  last  one  was  broken  his  life  would  pay  the 
penalty.  In  seventeen  days  the  task  was  accom- 
plished. The  tribe  came  to  Tampa,  and  the  captive 
was  released,  accompanying  his  warriors  to  the  far 
West.  This  ended  most  of  the  Indian  troubles  in 
Florida,  but  some  descendants  of  the  Seminoles  still 
exist  in  the  remote  fastnesses  of  the  everglades. 

THE  FLORIDA  EAST  COAST. 

All  along  the  Atlantic  shore  of  Florida  south  of  St. 
Augustine  are  popular  winter  resorts,  their  broad 
and  attractive  beaches,  fine  climate  and  prolific  tropi- 
cal vegetation  being  among  the  charms  that  bring 
visitors.  Ormond  is  between  the  ocean  front  and 
the  pleasant  Halifax  River,  its  picturesque  tributary, 
the  Tomoka,  being  a  favorite  resort  for  picnic  par- 
ties. A  few  miles  south  on  the  Halifax  River  is 
Daytona,  known  as  the  "  Fountain  City,"  and  having 
its  suburb,  "the  City  Beautiful,"  on  the  opposite 


878     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

bank.  New  Smyrna,  settled  by  Minorcan  indigo 
planters  in  the  eighteenth  century,  is  on  the  northern 
arm  of  Indian  Eiver.  Here  are  found  some  of  the 
ancient  Indian  shell  mounds  that  are  frequent  in 
Florida,  and  also  the  orange  groves  that  make  this 
region  famous.  Inland  about  thirty  miles  are  a  group 
of  pretty  lakes,  and  in  the  pines  at  Lake  Helen  is 
located  the  u  Southern,  Cassadaga,"  or  Spiritualists* 
Assembly.  For  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
the  noted  Indian  River  stretches  down  the  coast  of 
Florida.  It  is  a  long  and  narrow  lagoon,  parallel 
with  the  ocean,  and  is  part  of  the  series  of  lagoons 
found  on  the  eastern  coast  almost  continuously  for 
more  than  three  hundred  miles  from  St.  Augustine 
south  to  Biscayne  Bay,  and  varying  in  width  from 
about  fifty  yards  to  six  or  more  miles.  They  are 
shallow  waters,  rarely  over  twelve  feet  deep,  and  are 
entered  by  very  shallow  inlets  from  the  sea.  The 
Indian  River  shores,  stretching  down  to  Jupiter 
Inlet,  are  lined  with  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  the 
water  is  at  times  highly  phosphorescent.  Upon  the 
western  shore  are  most  of  the  celebrated  Indian 
River  orange  groves  whose  product  is  so  highly 
prized.  At  Titusville,  the  head  of  navigation,  where 
there  are  about  a  thousand  people,  the  river  is  about, 
at  its  widest  part,  six  miles.  Twenty  miles  below, 
at  Rockledge,  it  narrows  to  about  a  mile  in  width, 
washing  against  the  perpendicular  sides  of  a  contin- 
uous enclosing  ledge  of  coquina  rock,  with  pleasant 


THE  FLORIDA  EAST  COAST.  379 

overhanging  trees.  Here  comes  in,  around  an  island, 
its  eastern  arm,  the  Banana  River,  and  to  the  many 
orange  groves  are  added  plantations  of  the  luscious 
pineapple.  Various  limpid  streams  flow  out  from 
the  everglade  region  at  the  westward,  and  Fort  Pierce 
is  the  trading  station  for  that  district,  to  which  the 
remnant  of  the  Seminoles  come  to  exchange  alligator 
hides,  bird  plumage  and  snake  skins  for  various  sup- 
plies, not  forgetting  "  fire-water."  Below  this  is  the 
wide  estuary  of  St.  Lucie  River  and  the  Jupiter 
River,  with  the  lighthouse  on  the  ocean's  edge  at 
Jupiter  Inlet,  the  mouth  of  Indian  River. 

Seventeen  miles  below  this  Inlet  is  Palm  Beach,  a 
noted  resort,  situated  upon  the  narrow  strip  of  land 
between  the  long  and  narrow  lagoon  of  Lake  Worth 
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Here  are  the  vast  Hotel 
Royal  Poinciana  and  the  Palm  Beach  Inn,  with  their 
cocoanut  groves,  which  also  fringe  for  miles  the 
pleasant  shores  of  Lake  Worth.  Prolific  vegetation 
and  every  charm  that  can  add  to  this  American 
Riviera  bring  a  crowded  winter  population.  The 
Poinciana  is  a  tree  bearing  gorgeous  flowers,  and 
the  two  magnificent  hotels,  surrounded  by  an  exten- 
sive tropical  paradise,  are  connected  by  a  wide  ave- 
nue of  palms  a  half-mile  long,  one  house  facing  the 
lake  and  the  other  the  ocean.  There  is  not  a  horse 
in  the  settlement,  and  only  one  mule,  whose  duty  is 
to  haul  a  light  summer  car  between  the  houses.  The 
vehicles  of  Palm  Beach  are  said  to  be  confined  to 
Vol.  I.— 17 


380     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

u  bicycles,  wheel-chairs  and  jinrickshas."  Off  to  the 
westward  the  distant  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  mys- 
terious region  of  the  everglades.  Far  down  the 
coast  the  railway  terminates  at  Miami,  the  southern- 
most railway  station  in  the  United  States,  a  little 
town  on  Miami  River,  where  it  enters  the  broad  ex- 
panse of  Biscayne  Bay,  which  is  separated  from  the 
Atlantic  by  the  first  of  the  long  chain  of  Florida 
keys.  Here  are  many  fruit  and  vegetable  planta- 
tions, and  the  town,  which  is  a  railway  terminal  and 
steamship  port  for  lines  to  Nassau,  Key  West  and 
Havana,  is  growing.  Nassau  is  but  one  hundred* and 
seventy-five  miles  distant  in  the  Bahamas,  off  the 
Southern  Florida  coast,  and  has  become  a  favorite 
American  winter  tourist  resort. 

ASCENDING   ST.    JOHN'S   RIVER. 

The  St.  John's  is  the  great  river  of  Florida,  rising 
in  the  region  of  lakes,  swamps  and  savannahs  in  the 
lower  peninsula,  and  flowing  northward  four  hun- 
dred miles  to  Jacksonville,  then  turning  eastward  to 
the  ocean.  It  comes  through  a  low  and  level  region, 
with  mostly  a  sluggish  current ;  is  bordered  by  dense 
foliage,  and  in  its  northern  portion  is  a  series  of 
lagoons  varying  in  width  from  one  to  six  miles.  The 
river  is  navigable  fully  two  hundred  miles  above 
Jacksonville.  The  earlier  portion  of  the  journey  is 
monotonous,  the  shores  being  distant  and  the  land- 
ings made  at  long  piers  jutting  out  over  the  shallows 


ASCENDING  ST.  JOHN'S  EIVER  381 

from  the  villages  and  plantations.  At  Mandarin  is 
the  orange  grove  which  was  formerly  the  winter 
home  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe ;  Magnolia  amid  the 
pines  is  a  resort  for  consumptives  j  and  nearby  is 
Green  Cove  Springs,  having  a  large  sulphur  spring 
of  medicinal  virtue.  In  all  directions  stretch  the 
pine  forests  j  and  the  river  water,  while  clear  and 
sparkling  in  the  sunlight,  is  colored  a  dark  amber 
from  the  swamps  whence  it  comes.  The  original  In- 
dian name  of  this  river  was  We-la-ka,  or  a  "  chain 
of  lakes,"  the  literal  meaning,  in  the  figurative  idea 
of  the  savage,  being  u  the  water  has  its  own  way.* 
It  broadens  into  various  bays,  and  at  one  of  these, 
about  seventy-five  miles  south  of  Jacksonville,  is  the 
chief  town  of  the  upper  river,  Palatka,  having  about 
thirty-five  hundred  inhabitants  and  a  much  greater 
winter  population.  It  is  largely  a  Yankee  town, 
shipping  oranges  and  early  vegetables  to  the  North ; 
and  across  the  river,  just  above,  is  one  of  the  leading 
orange  plantations  of  Florida — Colonel  Hart's,  a 
Vermonter  who  came  here  dying  of  consumption, 
but  lived  to  become,  in  his  time,  the  leading  fruit- 
grower of  the  State.  Above  Palatka  the  river  is 
narrower,  excepting  where  it  may  broaden  into  a 
lake ;  the  foliage  is  greener,  the  shores  more  swampy, 
the  wild-fowl  more  frequent,  and  the  cypress  tree 
more  general.  The  young  "  cypress  knees  n  can  be 
seen  starting  up  along  the  swampy  edge  of  the  shore, 
looking  like  so  many  champagne  bottles  set  to  cool 


882     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

in  the  water.  The  river  also  becomes  quite  crooked, 
and  here  is  an  ancient  Spanish  and  Indian  settlement, 
well  named  Welaka,  opposite  which  flows  in  the 
weird  Ocklawaha  River,  the  haunt  of  the  alligator 
and  renowned  as  the  crookedest  stream  on  the  con- 
tinent. 

GOING   DOWN   THE   OCKLAWAHA. 

The  Ocklawaha,  the  "  dark,  crooked  water,"  comes 
from  the  south,  by  tortuous  windings,  through  vari- 
ous lakes  and  swamps,  and  then  turns  east  and  south- 
east to  flow  into  St.  John's  River,  after  a  course  of 
over  three  hundred  miles.  It  rises  in  Lake  Apopka, 
down  the  Peninsula,  elevated  about  a  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea,  the  second  largest  of  the  Florida  Lakes, 
and  covering  one  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles. 
This  lake  has  wooded  highlands  to  the  westward, 
dignified  by  the  title  of  Apopka  Mountains,  which 
rise  probably  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  its 
surface.  To  the  northward  is  a  group  of  lakes — 
Griffin,  Yale,  Eustis,  Dora,  Harris  and  others— hav- 
ing clear  amber  waters  and  low  shores,  which  are  all 
united  by  the  Ocklawaha,  the  stream  finally  flowing 
northward  out  of  Lake  Griffin.  This  is  a  region  of 
extensive  settlement,  mainly  by  Northern  people. 
The  mouth  of  the  Ocklawaha  is  sixty-five  miles  from 
Lake  Eustis  in  a  straight  line,  but  the  river  goes  two 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  get  there.  To  the  north- 
ward of  this  lake  district  is  the  thriving  town  of 
Ocala,  with  five  thousand  people,  in  a  region  of  good 


GOING  DOWN  THE  OCKLAWAHA.  383 

agriculture  and  having  large  phosphate  beds,  the  set- 
tlement having  been  originally  started  as  a  military 
post  during  the  Seminole  War.  About  five  miles 
east  of  Ocala  is  the  famous  Silver  Spring,  which  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  "fountain  of  perpetual 
youth,"  for  which  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  vainly 
searched.  It  is  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  of  the 
many  Florida  springs,  having  wonderfully  clear 
waters,  and  covers  about  three  acres.  The  waters 
can  be  plainly  seen  pouring  upwards  through  fissures 
in  the  rocky  bottom,  like  an  inverted  Niagara,  eighty 
feet  beneath  the  surface.  It  has  an  enormous  out- 
flow, and  a  swift  brook  runs  from  it,  a  hundred  feet 
wide,  for  some  eight  miles  to  the  Ocklawaha. 

This  strange  stream  is  hardly  a  river  in  the  ordi- 
nary sense,  having  fixed  banks  and  a  well-defined 
channel,  but  is  rather  a  tortuous  but  navigable  pas- 
sage through  a  succession  of  lagoons  and  cypress 
swamps.  Above  the  Silver  Spring  outlet,  only  the 
smallest  boats  of  light  draft  can  get  through  the 
crooked  channel.  This  outlet  is  thirty  miles  in  a 
direct  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  the  St. 
John's,  but  the  Ocklawaha  goes  one  hundred  and 
nine  miles  thither.  The  swampy  border  of  the  stream 
is  rarely  more  than  a  mile  broad,  and  beyond  it  are 
the  higher  pine  lands.  Through  this  curious  chan- 
nel, amid  the  thick  cypress  forests  and  dense  jungle 
of  undergrowth,  the  wayward  and  crooked  river 
meanders.     The  swampy  bottom  in  which  it  has  its 


884     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPT/VR 

course  is  so  low-lying  as  to  be  undrainable  and  can- 
not be  improved,  so  that  it  will  probably  always  re- 
main as  now,  a  refuge  for  the  sub-tropical  animals, 
birds,  reptiles  and  insects  of  Florida,  which  abound  in 
its  inmost  recesses.  Here  flourishes  the  alligator,  com- 
ing out  to  sun  himself  at  mid-day  on  the  logs  and 
warm  grassy  lagoons  at  the  edge  of  the  stream,  in 
just  the  kinds  of  places  one  would  expect  to  find 
him.  Yet  the  alligator  is  said  to  be  a  coward,  rarely 
attacking,  unless  his  retreat  to  water  in  which  to  hide 
himself  is  cut  off.  He  thus  becomes  more  a  curiosity 
than  a  foe.  These  reptiles  are  hatched  from  eggs 
which  the  female  deposits  during  the  spring,  in  large 
numbers,  in  muddy  places,  where  she  digs  out  a  spa- 
cious cavity,  fills  it  with  several  hundred  eggs,  and 
covering  them  thickly  with  mud,  leaves  nature  to  do 
the  rest.  After  a  long  incubation  the  little  fellows 
come  out  and  make  a  bee-line  for  the  nearest  water. 
The  big  alligators  of  the  neighborhood  have  many 
breakfasts  on  the  newly-born  little  ones,  but  some 
manage  to  grow  up,  after  several  years,  to  maturity, 
and  exhibit  themselves  along  this  remarkable  river. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive  of  the  concen- 
trated crookedness  of  the  Ocklawaha  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  passage.  It  is  navigated  by  stout  and  narrow 
flat-bottomed  boats  of  light  draft,  constructed  so  as 
to  quickly  turn  sharp  corners,  bump  the  shores  and 
run  on  logs  without  injury.  The  river  turns  con- 
stantly at  short  intervals  and  doubles  upon  itself  k> 


GOING  DOWN  THE  OCKLAWAHA.  385 

almost  every  mile,  while  the  huge  cypress  trees  often 
compress  the  water  way  so  that  a  wider  boat  could 
not  get  through.  There  are  many  beautiful  views 
in  its  course  displaying  the  noble  ranks  of  cypress 
trees  rising  as  the  stream  bends  along  its  bordering 
edge  of  swamps.  Occasionally  a  comparatively 
straight  river  reach  opens  like  the  aisle  of  a  grand 
building  with  the  moss-hung  cypress  columns  in  long 
and  sombre  rows  on  either  hand.  At  rare  intervals 
fast  land  comes  down  to  the  stream  bank,  where  there 
is  some  cultivation  attempted  for  oranges  and  vege- 
tables. Terrapin,  turtles  and  water-fowl  abound. 
When  the  passenger  boat,  after  bumping  and  swing- 
ing around  the  corners,  much  like  a  ponderous  tee- 
totum, halts  for  a  moment  at  a  landing  in  this  swampy 
fastness,  half-clad  negroes  usually  appear,  offering  for 
sale  partly-grown  baby  alligators,  which  are  the  pro- 
lific crop  of  the  district.  Various  "  Turkey  bends," 
"Hell's  half-acres,"  "Log  Jams,"  "Bone  Yards" 
and  "  Double  S  Bends  "  are  passed,  and  at  one  place 
is  the  "  Cypress  Gate,"  where  three  large  trees  are 
in  the  way,  and  by  chopping  off  parts  of  their  roots, 
a  passage  about  twenty  feet  wide  had  been  secured 
to  let  the  boats  through.  There  are  said  to  be  two 
thousand  bends  in  one  hundred  miles  of  this  stream, 
and  many  of  them  are  like  corrugated  circles,  by 
which  the  narrow  water  way,  in  a  mile  or  two  of  its 
course,  manages  to  twist  back  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
where  it  started      At  night,  to  aid  the  navigation, 


886     AMEKICA,  PICTUBESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  lurid  glare  of  huge  pine-knot  torches,  fitfully 
blazing,  gives  the  scene  a  weird  and  unnatural  aspect. 
The  monotonous  sameness  of  cypress  trunks,  sombre 
moss  and  twisting  stream  for  many  hours  finally  be- 
comes very  tiresome,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  most  re- 
markable journey  of  the  strangest  character  possible 
in  this  country  to  sail  down  the  Ocklawaha. 

LOWER   FLORIDA   AND    THE    SEMINOLES. 

South  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ocklawaha  the  St. 
John's  River  broadens  into  Lake  George,  the  largest 
of  its  many  lakes,  a  pretty  sheet  of  water  six  to  nine 
miles  wide  and  twelve  miles  long.  Volusia,  the  site 
of  an  ancient  Spanish  mission,  is  at  the  head  of  this 
lake,  and  the  discharge  from  the  swift  but  narrow 
stream  above  has  made  sand  bars,  so  that  jetties  are 
constructed  to  deepen  the  channel.  For  a  long  dis- 
tance the  upper  river  is  narrow  and  tortuous,  with 
numerous  islands  and  swamps,  the  dark  coffee-colored 
water  disclosing  its  origin  j  but  the  Blue  Spring  in 
one  place  is  unique,  sending  out  an  ample  and  rich 
blue  current  to  mix  with  the  amber.  Then  Lake 
Monroe  is  reached,  ten  miles  long  and  five  miles  wide, 
the  head  of  navigation,  by  the  regular  lines  of 
steamers,  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  above 
Jacksonville.  Here  are  two  flourishing  towns,  En- 
terprise on  the  northern  shore  and  Sanford  on  the 
southern,  both  popular  winter  resorts,  and  the  latter 
having  two  thousand  people.    The  St.  John's  extends 


LOWEE  FLORIDA  AND  THE  SEMINOLES.      387 

above  Lake  Monroe,  a  crooked,  narrow,  shallow 
stream,  two  hundred  and  fourteen  miles  farther  south- 
eastward to  its  source.  The  region  through  which 
it  there  passes  is  mostly  a  prairie  with  herds  of  cattle 
and  much  game,  and  is  only  sparsely  settled.  The 
upper  river  approaches  the  seacoast,  being  in  one 
place  but  three  miles  from  the  lagoons  bordering  the 
Atlantic.  To  the  southward  of  Lake  Monroe  are  the 
winter  resorts  of  Winter  Park  and  Orlando,  the  latter 
a  town  of  three  thousand  population.  There  are  nu- 
merous lakes  in  this  district,  and  then  leaving  the 
St.  John's  valley  and  crossing  the  watershed  south- 
ward through  the  pine  forests,  the  Okeechobee  waters 
are  reached,  which  flow  down  to  that  lake.  This  re- 
gion was  the  home  of  a  part  of  the  Seminole  Indians, 
and  Tohopekaliga  was  their  chief,  whom  they  re- 
vered so  highly  that  they  named  their  largest  lake 
in  his  honor.  The  Kissimmee  River  flows  southward 
through  this  lake,  and  then  traverses  a  succession  of 
lakes  and  swamps  to  Lake  Okeechobee,  about  two 
hundred  miles  southward  by  the  water-line.  Kissim- 
mee City  is  on  Lake  Tohopekaliga,  and  extensive 
drainage  operations  have  been  conducted  here  and  to 
the  southward,  reclaiming  a  large  extent  of  valuable 
lands,  and  lowering  the  water-level  in  all  these  lakes 
and  attendant  swamps. 

From  Lake  Tohopegalika  through  the  tortuous 
water  route  to  Lake  Okeechobee,  and  thence  by  the 
Caloosahatchie  westward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  is  a 


888     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

winding  channel  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  miles, 
though  in  a  direct  line  the  distance  is  but  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles.  Okeechobee,  the  word  mean- 
ing the  "  large  water,"  covers  about  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  square  miles,  and  almost  all  about  it  are  the 
everglades  or  "  grass  water,"  the  shores  being  gen- 
erally a  swampy  jungle.  This  district  for  many 
miles  is  a  mass  of  waving  sedge  grass  eight  to  ten 
feet  high  above  the  water,  and  inaccessible  excepting 
through  narrow,  winding  and  generally  hidden  chan- 
nels. In  one  locality  a  few  tall  lone  pines  stand  like 
sentinels  upon  Arpeika  Island,  formerly  the  home  of 
the  bravest  and  most  dreaded  of  the  Seminoles,  and 
still  occupied  by  some  of  their  descendants.  The 
name  of  the  Seminole  means  the  "separatist"  or 
u  runaway  "  Indians,  they  having  centuries  ago  sep- 
arated from  the  Creeks  in  Georgia  and  gone  south- 
ward into  Florida.  From  the  days  of  De  Soto  to 
the  time  of  their  deportation  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury the  Spanish,  British,  French  and  Americans 
made  war  with  these  Seminole  Indians.  Gradually 
they  were  pressed  southward  through  Florida.  Their 
final  refuge  was  the  green  islands  and  hummocks  of  the 
everglades,  and  they  then  clung  to  their  last  homes 
with  the  tenacity  of  despair.  The  greater  part  of 
this  region  is  an  unexplored  mystery ;  the  deep 
silence  that  can  be  actually  felt,  everywhere  per- 
vades ;  and  once  lost  within  the  labyrinth,  the  ad- 
venturer is  doomed  unless  rescued.     Only  the  In- 


LOWER  FLOEIDA  AND  THE  SEMINOLES.      389 

dians  knew  its  concealed  and  devious  paths.  On 
Arpeika  Island  the  Cacique  of  the  Caribs  is  said  to 
have  ruled  centuries  ago,  until  forced  south  out  of 
Florida  by  the  Seminoles.  It  was  at  times  a  refuge 
for  the  buccaneer  with  his  plunder  and  a  shrine  for 
the  missionary  martyr  who  planted  the  Cross  and 
was  murdered  beside  it.  This  island  was  the  last 
retreat  of  the  Seminoles  in  the  desultory  war  from 
1835  to  1843,  when  they  defied  the  Government, 
which,  during  eight  years,  spent  $50,000,000  upon 
expeditions  sent  against  them.  Then  the  attempt  to 
remove  all  of  them  was  abandoned,  and  the  remnant 
have  since  rested  in  peace,  living  by  hunting  and  a 
little  trading  with  the  coast  settlements.  The  names 
of  the  noted  chiefs  of  this  great  race — Osceola, 
Tallahassee,  Tohopekaliga,  Coa-coo-chee  and  others 
— are  preserved  in  the  lakes,  streams  and  towns 
of  Florida.  Most  of  the  deported  tribe  were  sent 
to  the  Indian  Territory.  There  may  be  three  or 
four  hundred  of  them  still  in  the  everglades,  peace- 
ful, it  is  true,  yet  haughty  and  suspicious,  and  sturdily 
rejecting  all  efforts  to  educate  or  civilize  them. 
They  celebrate  their  great  feast,  the  "  Green  Corn 
Dance,"  in  late  June ;  and  they  have  unwavering 
faith  in  the  belief  that  the  time  will  yet  come 
when  all  their  prized  everglade  land  will  be  theirs 
again,  and  the  glory  of  the  past  redeemed,  if  not  in 
this  world,  then  in  the  next  one,  beyond  the  "  Big 
Sleep," 


890     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
WESTERN  FLORIDA. 

Westward  from  Jacksonville,  a  railway  runs 
through  the  pine  forests  until  it  reaches  the  rushing 
Suwanee  River,  draining  the  Okifenokee  swamp  out 
to  the  Gulf,  just  north  of  Cedar  Key.  This  stream  is 
best  known  from  the  minstrel  song,  long  so  popular, 
of  the  Old  Folks  at  Home,  Beyond  it  the  land  rises 
into  the  rolling  country  of  Middle  Florida,  the  undu- 
lating surface  sometimes  reaching  four  hundred  feet 
elevation,  and  presenting  fertile  soil  and  pleasant 
scenery,  with  a  less  tropical  vegetation  than  the 
Peninsula  of  Florida.  Here  is  Tallahassee,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  State,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles 
from  Jacksonville,  a  beautiful  town  of  four  thousand 
population,  almost  embedded  in  flowering  plants, 
shrubbery  and  evergreens,  and  familiarly  known 
from  these  beauties  as  the  "  Floral  Crty,"  the  gar- 
dens being  especially  attractive  in  the  season  of 
roses.  The  Capitol  and  Court-house  and  West 
Florida  Seminary,  set  on  a  hill,  are  the  chief  public 
buildings.  In  the  suburbs,  at  Monticello,  lived 
Prince  Achille  Murat,  a  son  of  the  King  of  Naples, 
who  died  in  1847,  and  his  grave  is  in  the  Episcopal 
Cemetery.  There  are  several  lakes  near  the  town, 
one  of  them  the  curious  Lake  Miccosukie,  which 
contracts  into  a  creek,  finally  disappearing  under- 
ground. The  noted  Wakulla  Spring,  an  immense 
limestone  basin  of  great  depth  and  volume  of  water, 


WESTERN  FLORIDA.  891 

with  wonderful  transparency,  is  fifteen  miles  south- 
ward. 

Some  distance  to  the  westward  the  Flint  and  Chat- 
tahoochee Rivers  join  to  form  the  Appalachicola 
River,  flowing  down  to  the  Gulf  at  Appalachicola,  a 
somewhat  decadent  port  from  loss  of  trade,  its  ex- 
ports being  principally  lumber  and  cotton.  The  shal- 
lowness of  most  of  these  Gulf  harbors,  which  readily 
silt  up,  destroys  their  usefulness  as  ports  for  deep- 
draft  shipping.  The  route  farther  westward  skirts 
the  Gulf  Coast,  crosses  Escambia  Bay  and  reaches 
Pensacola,  on  its  spacious  harbor,  ten  miles  within 
the  Gulf.  This  is  the  chief  Western  Florida  port, 
with  fifteen  thousand  people,  having  a  Navy  Yard 
and  much  trade  in  lumber,  cotton,  coal  and  grain,  a 
large  elevator  for  the  latter  being  erected  in  1898. 
The  Spaniards  made  this  a  frontier  post  in  1696,  and 
the  remains  of  their  forts,  San  Miguel  and  San  Ber- 
nardo, can  be  seen  behind  the  town,  while  near  the 
outer  edge  of  the  harbor  is  the  old-time  Spanish  de- 
fensive battery,  Fort  San  Carlos  de  Barrancos.  The 
harbor  entrance  is  now  defended  by  Fort  Pickens  and 
Fort  McRae.  Pensacola  Bay  was  the  scene  of  one  of 
the  first  spirited  naval  combats  of  the  Civil  War, 
when  the  Union  forces  early  in  1862  recaptured  the 
Navy  Yard  and  defenses.  The  name  of  Pensacola 
was  originally  given  by  the  Choctaws  to  the  bearded 
Europeans  who  first  settled  there,  and  signifies  the 
a  hair  people." 


892     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE   FLORIDA   GULF   COAST. 

The  coast  of  Florida  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  has 
various  attractive  places,  reached  by  a  convenient 
railway  system.  Homosassa  is  a  popular  resort 
about  fifty  miles  southwestward  from  Ocala.  A  short 
distance  in  the  interior  is  the  locality  where  the  Semi- 
noles  surprised  and  massacred  Major  Dade  and  his 
men  in  December,  1835,  only  three  soldiers  escaping 
alive  to  tell  the  horrid  tale.  The  operations  against 
these  Indians  were  then  mainly  conducted  from  the 
military  post  of  Tampa,  and  thither  were  taken  for 
deportation  the  portions  of  the  tribe  that  were  after- 
wards captured,  or  who  surrendered  under  the  treaty. 
When  Ferdinand  de  Soto  entered  this  magnificent 
harbor  on  his  voyage  of  discovery  and  gold  hunting, 
he  called  it  Espiritu  Sancto  Bay.  It  is  from  six  to 
fifteen  miles  wide,  and  stretches  nearly  forty  miles 
into  the  land,  being  dotted  with  islands,  its  waters 
swarming  with  sea-fowl,  turtles  and  fish,  deer  abound- 
ing in  the  interior  and  on  some  of  the  islands,  and 
there  being  abundant  anchorage  for  the  largest  ves- 
sels. This  is  the  great  Florida  harbor  and  the  chief 
winter  resort  on  the  western  coast.  It  was  the  main 
port  of  rendezvous  and  embarkation  for -the  Ameri- 
can forces  in  the  Spanish  War  of  1898.  The  head 
of  the  harbor  divides  into  Old  Tampa  and  Hills- 
borough Bays,  and  on  the  latter  and  at  the  mouth  of 
Hillsborough    River  is   the    city,  numbering    about 


THE  FLOEIDA  GULF  COAST.  393 

twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants.  The  great  hotels 
are  surrounded  by  groves  with  orange  and  lemon 
trees  abounding,  and  everything  is  invoked  that  can 
add  to  the  tourist  attractions.  The  special  industry 
of  the  resident  population  is  cigar-making.  Port 
Tampa  is  out  upon  the  Peninsula  between  the  two 
bays,  several  miles  below  the  city,  and  a  long  railway 
trestle  leads  from  the  shore  for  a  mile  to  deep  water. 
Upon  the  outer  end  of  this  long  wharf  is  Tampa  Inn, 
built  on  a  mass  of  piles,  much  like  some  of  the  con- 
structions in  Venice.  The  guests  can  almost  catch 
fish  out  of  the  bedroom  windows,  and  while  eating 
breakfast  can  watch  the  pelican  go  fishing  in  the 
neighboring  waters,  for  this  queer-looking  bird,  with 
the  duck  and  gull,  is  everywhere  seen  in  these  at- 
tractive regions.  An  outer  line  of  keys  defends 
Tampa  harbor  from  the  storms  of  the  Gulf.  There 
are  many  popular  resorts  on  the  islands  and  shores 
of  Tampa  Bay,  and  regular  lines  of  steamers  are  run 
to  the  West  India  ports,  Mobile  and  New  Orleans. 
All  the  surroundings  are  attractive,  and  a  pleased 
visitor  writes  of  the  place  :  "  Conditions  hereabouts 
exhilarate  the  men  ;  a  perpetual  sun  and  ocean  breeze 
are  balm  to  the  invalid  and  an  inspiration  to  a  robust 
health.  The  landscape  affords  uncommon  diversion, 
and  the  sea  its  royal  sport  with  rod  and  gaff." 

Farther  down  the  coast  is  Charlotte  Harbor,  also 
deeply  indented  and  sheltered  from  the  sea  by  vari- 
ous outlying  islands.    It  is  eight  to  ten  miles  long  and 


394     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

extends  twenty-five  miles  into  the  land,  having  valu- 
able oyster-beds  and  fisheries,  and  its  port  is  Punta 
Gorda.  Below  this  is  the  projecting  shore  of  Punta 
Rassa,  where  the  outlet  of  Lake  Okeechobee,  the 
Caloosahatchie  River,  flows  to  the  sea,  having  the 
military  post  of  Fort  Myers,  another  popular  resort, 
a  short  distance  inland,  upon  its  bank.  The  Gulf 
Coast  now  trends  to  the  southeast,  with  various  bays, 
in  one  of  which,  with  Cape  Romano  as  the  guarding 
headland,  is  the  archipelago  of  "the  ten  thousand 
islands,"  while  below  is  Cape  Sable,  the  southwestern 
extremity  of  Florida.  To  the  southward,  distant 
from  the  shore,  are  the  long  line  of  Florida  Keys,  the 
name  coming  from  the  Spanish  word  cayo,  an  island. 
This  remarkable  coral  formation  marks  the  northern 
limit  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  where  it  flows  swiftly  out 
to  round  the  extremity  of  the  Peninsula  and  begin 
its  northern  course  through  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
Although  well  lighted  and  charted,  the  Straits  of 
Florida  along  these  reefs  are  dangerous  to  navigate 
and  need  special  pilots.  Nowhere  rising  more  than 
eight  to  twelve  feet  above  the  sea,  the  Keys  thus 
low-lying  are  luxuriantly  covered  with  tropical  vege- 
tation. From  the  Dry  Tortugas  at  the  west,  around 
to  Sand's  Key  at  the  entrance  to  Biscay ne  Bay,  off 
the  Atlantic  Coast,  about  two  hundred  miles,  is  a 
continuous  reef  of  coral,  upon  the  whole  extent  of 
which  the  little  builder  is  still  industriously  working. 
The  reef  is  occasionally  broken  by  channels  of  vary- 


THE  FLORIDA  GULF  COAST.  395 

ing  depth,  and  within  the  outer  line  are  many  habit- 
able islands.  The  whole  space  inside  this  reef  is 
slowly  filling  up,  just  as  all  the  Keys  are  also  slowly 
growing  through  accretions  from  floating  substances 
becoming  entangled  in  the  myriad  roots  of  the  man- 
groves. The  present  Florida  Reef  is  a  good  exam- 
ple of  the  way  in  which  a  large  part  of  the  Peninsula 
was  formed.  No  less  than  seven  old  coral  reefs  have 
been  found  to  exist  south  of  Lake  Okeechobee,  and 
the  present  one  at  the  very  edge  of  the  deep  water 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  is  probably  the  last  that  can 
be  formed,  as  the  little  coral-builder  cannot  live 
at  a  greater  depth  than  sixty  feet.  The  Gulf  Stream 
current  is  so  swift  and  deep  along  the  outer  reef 
that  there  is  no  longer  a  foundation  on  which  to 
build. 

The  Gulf  Stream  is  the  best  known  of  all  the 
great  ocean  currents.  The  northeast  and  southeast 
trade-winds,  constantly  blowing,  drive  a  great  mass  of 
water  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  into  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  and  westward  through  the  passages  between  the 
Windward  Islands,  which  is  contracted  by  the  con- 
verging shores  of  the  Yucatan  Peninsula  and  the 
Island  of  Cuba,  so  that  it  pours  between  them  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  raising  its  surface  considerably 
above  the  level  of  the  Atlantic.  These  currents  then 
move  towards  the  Florida  Peninsula,  and  pass  around 
the  Florida  Reef  and  out  into  the  Atlantic.  It  is 
estimated  by  the  Coast  Survey  that  the  hourly  flow 


896     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

of  the  Gulf  Stream  past  the  reef  is  nearly  ninety 
thousand  million  tons  of  water,  the  speed  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  axis  of  the  stream  being  over  three  and 
one-half  miles  an  hour.  .  To  conceive  what  the  im- 
mensity of  this  flow  means,  it  is  stated  that  if  a  single 
hour's  flow  of  water  were  evaporated,  the  salt  thus 
produced  would  require  to  carry  it  one  hundred  times 
the  number  of  ocean-going  vessels  now  afloat.  The 
Gulf  Stream  water  is  of  high  temperature,  great 
clearness  and  a  deep  blue  color ;  and  when  it  meets 
the  greener  waters  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  northward, 
the  line  of  distinction  is  often  very  well  defined.  At 
the  exit  to  the  Atlantic  below  Jupiter  Inlet  the 
stream  is  forty-eight  miles  wide  to  Little  Bahama 
Bank,  and  its  depth  over  four  hundred  fathoms. 

There  are  numerous  harbors  of  refuge  among  the 
Florida  Keys,  and  that  at  Key  West  is  the  best. 
This  is  a  coral  island  seven  miles  long  and  one  to 
two  miles  broad,  but  nowhere  elevated  more  than 
eleven  feet  above  the  sea.  Its  name,  by  a  free  trans- 
lation, comes  from  the  original  Spanish  name  of 
Cayo  Hueso,  or  the  Bone  Island,  given  because  the 
early  mariners  found  human  bones  upon  it.  Here 
are  twenty  thousand  people,  mostly  Cubans  and  set- 
tlers from  the  Bahamas,  the  chief  industry  being 
cigar-making,  while  catching  fish  and  turtles  and 
gathering  sponges  also  give  much  employment. 
There  are  no  springs  on  the  island,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants are  dependent  on  rain  or  distillation  for  water. 


THE  FLOEIDA  GULF  COAST.  397 

The  air  is  pure  and  the  climate  healthy,  the  trees  and 
shrubbery,  with  the  residences  embowered  in  peren- 
nial flowers,  giving  the  city  a  picturesque  appearance. 
Key  West  has  a  good  harbor,  and  as  it  commands  the 
gateway  to  and  from  the  Gulf  near  the  western  ex- 
tremity of  the  Florida  coral  reef,  it  is  strongly  de- 
fended, the  prominent  work  being  Fort  Taylor,  con- 
structed on  an  artificial  island  within  the  main  harbor 
entrance.  The  little  Sand  Key,  seven  miles  to  the 
southwest,  is  the  southernmost  point  of  the  United 
States.  Forty  miles  to  the  westward  is  the  group 
of  ten  small,  low  and  barren  islands  known  as  the 
Dry  Tortugas,  from  the  Spanish  tortuga,  a  tortoise. 
Upon  the  farthest  one,  Loggerhead  Key,  stands  the 
great  guiding  light  for  the  Florida  Reef,  of  which  this 
is  the  western  extremity,  the  tower  rising  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet.  Fort  Jefferson  is  on  Garden 
Key,  where  there  is  a  harbor,  and  in  it  were  confined 
various  political  prisoners  during  the  Civil  War, 
among  them  some  who  were  concerned  in  the  con- 
spiracy to  assassinate  President  Lincoln. 

Here,  with  the  encircling  waters  of  the  Gulf  all 
around  us,  terminates  this  visit  to  the  Sunny  South. 
As  we  have  progressed,  the  gradual  blending  of  the 
temperate  into  the  torrid  zone,  with  the  changing 
vegetation,  has  reminded  of  Bayard  Taylor's  words : 

"There,  in  the  wondering  airs  of  the  Tropics, 
Shivers  the  Aspen,  still  dreaming  of  cold : 
There  stretches  the  Oak  from  the  loftiest  ledges, 


398     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AtfD  DESCRIPTIVE. 

His  arms  to  the  far-away  lands  of  his  brothers, 

And  the  Pine  tree  looks  down  on  his  rival,  the  Palm." 

And  as  the  journey  down  the  Florida  Peninsula 
has  displayed  some  of  the  most  magnificent  winter 
resorts  of  the  American  Riviera,  with  their  wealth 
of  tropical  foliage,  fruits  and  flowers,  and  their  seduc- 
tive and  balmy  climate,  this  too  has  reminded  of  Car- 
dinal Damiani's  glimpse  of  the  ^ Joys  of  Heaven  " : 

"Stormy  winter,   burning  summer,   rage  within  these  regions 
never, 
But  perpetual  bloom  of  roses  and  unfading  spring  forever ; 
Lilies  gleam,  the  crocus  glows,  and  dropping  balms  their 
scents  deliver." 

Along  this  famous  peninsula  the  sea  rolls  with 
ceaseless  beat  upon  some  of  the  most  gorgeous 
beaches  of  the  American  coast.  To  the  glories  of 
tropical  vegetation  and  the  charms  of  the  climate, 
Florida  thus  adds  the  magnificence  of  its  unrivalled 
marine  environment.  Everywhere  upon  these  pleas- 
ant coasts — 

'  •  The  bridegroom,  Sea, 

Is  toying  with  his  wedded  bride, — the  Shore. 

He  decorates  her  shining  brow  with  shells, 

And  then  retires  to  see  how  fine  she  looks, 

Then,  proud,  runs  up  to  kiss  her." 


TRAVERSING  THE  PRAIRIE  LAND. 


VI. 

TEAVEKSING  THE  PRAIRIE  UND. 

The  Northwest  Territory — Beaver  River — Fort  Mcintosh — Ma- 
honing Valley — Steubenville — Youngstown — Canton — Mas- 
sillon — Columbus — Scioto  River — Wayne  Defeats  the  Miamis 
— Sandusky  River  —  Findlay  —  Natural  Gas  Fields  —  Fort 
Wayne — Maumee  River — The  Little  Turtle — Old  Tippecanoe 
— Tecumseh — Battle  of  Tippecanoe— Harrison  Defeats  the 
Prophet— Tecumseh  Slain  in  Canada — Indianapolis — Wabash 
River — Terre  Haute — Illinois  River — Springfield — Lincoln's 
Home  and  Toml) — Peoria — The  Great  West— Lake  Erie — 
Tribe  of  the  Cat — Conneaut — The  Western  Reserve — Ash- 
tabula— Mentor — Cleveland— Cuyahoga  River — Moses  Cleave- 
land— Euclid  Avenue — Oberlin — Elyria — The  Fire  Lands— 
Sandusky  —  Put-in-Bay  Island — Perry's  Victory — Maumee 
River — Toledo — South  Bend — Chicago — The  Pottawatomies 
— Fort  Dearborn — Chicago  Fire— Lake  Michigan — Chicago 
River  —  Drainage  Canal  —  Lockport — Water  Supply — Fine 
Buildings,  Streets  and  Parks — University  of  Chicago — Libra- 
ries— Federal  Steel  Company — Great  Business  Establishments 
—Union  Stock  Yards— The  Hog— The  Board  of  Trade- 
Speculative  Activity — George  M.  Pullman — The  Sleeping 
Car — The  Pioneer — Town  of  Pullman — Agricultural  Wealth 
of  the  Prairies — The  Corn  Crop — Whittier's  Corn  Song. 

THE   NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

Beyond  the  Allegheny  ranges,  which  are  gradually 
broken  down  into  their  lower  foothills,  and  then  to  an 
almost  monotonous  level,  the  expansive  prairie  lands 
stretch  towards  the  setting  sun.  From  their  prolific 
agriculture  has  come  much  of  the  wealth  and  pros- 

(401) 


402     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

perity  of  the  United  States.  The  rivers  flowing  out 
of  the  mountains  seek  the  Mississippi  Valley,  thus 
reaching  the  sea  through  the  Great  Father  of  Waters. 
Among  these  rivers  is  the  Ohio,  and  at  its  confluence 
with  the  Beaver,  near  the  western  border  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was,  in  the  early  days,  the  Revolutionary 
outpost  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  a  defensive  work  against 
the  Indians.  All  about  is  a  region  of  coal  and  gas, 
extending  across  the  boundary  into  the  Mahoning  dis- 
trict of  Ohio,  the  Mahoning  River  being  an  affluent 
of  the  Beaver.  Numerous  railroads  serve  its  many 
towns  of  furnaces  and  forges.  To  the  southward  is 
Steubenville  on  the  Ohio,  and  to  the  northward 
Youngstown  on  the  Mahoning,  both  busy  manufac- 
turing centres.  Salem  and  Alliance  are  also  promi- 
nent, and  some  distance  northwest  is  Canton,  a  city 
of  thirty  thousand  people,  in  a  fertile  grain  district, 
the  home  of  President  William  McKinley.  Massillon, 
upon  the  pleasant  Tuscarawas  River,  in  one  of  the 
most  productive  Ohio  coal-fields,  preserves  the 
memory  of  the  noted  French  missionary  priest, 
Jean  Baptiste  Massillon,  for  all  this  region  was  first 
traversed,  and  opened  to  civilization,  by  the  French 
religious  explorers  from  Canada  who  went  out  to  con- 
vert the  Indians. 

In  the  centre  of  the  State  of  Ohio  is  the  capital, 
Columbus,  built  on  the  banks  of  the  Scioto  River,  a 
tributary  of  the  Ohio  flowing  southward  and  two 
hundred  miles  long.     This  river  receives  the  Olen- 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  408 

tangy  or  Whetstone  River  at  Columbus,  in  a  region 
of  great  fertility,  which  is  in  fact  the  characteristic 
of  the  whole  Scioto  Valley.  The  Ohio  capital,  which 
has  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand, 
large  commerce  and  many  important  manufacturing 
establishments,  dates  from  1812,  and  became  the  seat 
of  the  State  Government  in  1816.  The  large  expen- 
ditures of  public  money  upon  numerous  public  insti- 
tutions, all  having  fine  buildings,  the  wide,  tree-shaded 
streets,  and  the  many  attractive  residences,  have 
made  it  one  of  the  finest  cities  in  the  United  States. 
Broad  Street,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide, 
beautifully  shaded  with  maples  and  elms,  extends  for 
seven  miles.  The  Capitol  occupies  a  large  park  sur- 
rounded with  elms,  and  is  an  impressive  Doric  build- 
ing of  gray  limestone,  three  hundred  and  four  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  feet  wide,  the 
rotunda  being  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  feet  high. 
There  are  fine  parks  on  the  north,  south  and  east  of 
the  city,  the  latter  containing  the  spacious  grounds 
of  the  Agricultural  Society.  Almost  all  the  Ohio 
State  buildings,  devoted  to  its  benevolence,  justice  or 
business,  have  been  concentrated  in  Columbus,  add- 
ing to  its  attractions,  and  it  is  also  the  seat  of  the 
Ohio  State  University  with  one  thousand  students. 
Railroads  radiate  in  all  directions,  adding  to  its  com- 
mercial importance. 

In  going  westward,  the  region  we  are  traversing 
beyond  the  Pennsylvania  boundary  gradually  changes 
Vol.  I.— 18 


404     AMEBICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

from  coal  and  iron  to  a  rich  agricultural  section.  As 
we  move  away  from  the  influence  of  the  Allegheny 
ranges,  the  hills  becom,e  gentler,  and  the  rolling  sur-? 
face  is  more  and  more  subdued,  until  it  is  smoothed 
out  into  an  almost  level  prairie,  heavily  timbered 
where  not  yet  cleared  for  cultivation.  This  was  the 
Northwest  Territory,  first  explored  by  the  French, 
who  were  led  by  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  in  his  original 
discoveries  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  French 
held  it  until  the  conquest  of  Canada,  when  that  Do- 
minion and  the  whole  country  west  to  the  Mississippi 
River  came  under  the  British  flag  by  the  treaty  of 
1763.  After  the  Revolution,  the  various  older  At- 
lantic seaboard  States  claiming  the  region,  ceded  sov- 
ereignty to  the  United  States  Government,  and  then 
its  history  was  chequered  by  Indian  wars  until  Gen- 
eral Wayne  conducted  an  expedition  against  the 
Miamis  and  defeated  them  in  1794,  after  which  the 
Northwest  Territory  was  organized,  and  the  State  of 
Ohio  taken  out  of  it  and  admitted  to  the  Union  in 
1803,  its  first  capital  being  Chillicothe.  It  was  re- 
moved to  Zanesville  for  a  couple  of  years,  but  finally 
located  at  Columbus. 

Beyond  the  Scioto  the  watershed  is  crossed,  by 
which  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  are  left  behind  and  the 
valley  of  Sandusky  River  is  reached,  a  tributary  of 
Lake  Erie.  Here  is  Bucyrus,  in  another  prolific 
natural  gas  region,  the  centre  of  which  is  Findlay. 
At  this  town,  in  1887,  the  inhabitants,  who  had  then 


UPPER  YOSEMITE  FALLS 


Pict.  America — Vol.  One 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  405 

had  just  one  year  of  natural  gas  development,  spent 
three  days  in  exuberant  festivity,  to  show  their  ap- 
preciation of  the  wonderful  discovery.  They  had 
thirty-one  gas  wells  pouring  out  ninety  millions  of 
cubic  feet  in  a  day,  all  piped  into  town  and  feeding 
thirty  thousand  glaring  natural  gas  torches  of  enor- 
mous power,  which  blew  their  roaring  flames  as  an 
accompaniment  to  the  oratory  of  John  Sherman  and 
Joseph  B.  Foraker,  who  were  then  respectively  Sen- 
ator and  Governor  of  Ohio.  The  soldiers  and  fire- 
men paraded,  and  a  multitude  of  brass  bands  tried  to 
drown  the  Niagara  of  gas  which  was  heard  roaring 
five  miles  away,  while  the  country  at  night  was  illu- 
minated for  twenty  miles  around.  But  the  wells  have 
since  diminished  their  flow,  although  the  gas  still  ex- 
ists ;  while  another  field  with  a  prolific  yield  is  in 
Fairfield  County,  a  short  distance  southeast  of  Co- 
lumbus. Over  the  State  boundary  in  Indiana  is  yet 
another  great  gas-field  covering  five  thousand  square 
miles  in  a  dozen  counties,  with  probably  two  thousand 
wells  and  a  yield  which  has  reached  three  thousand 
millions  of  cubic  feet  in  a  day.  This  gas  supplies 
many  cities  and  towns,  including  Chicago,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  greatest  gas-fields  known.  In  the  same 
region  there  are  also  large  petroleum  deposits. 

Not  far  beyond  the  State  boundary  is  Fort  Wayne, 
the  leading  city  of  Northern  Indiana,  having  forty 
thousand  population,  an  important  railway  centre,  and 
prominent  also  in  manufactures.     It  stands  in  a  fer- 


406     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

tile  agricultural  district,  and  being  located  at  the 
highest  part  of  the  gentle  elevation,  beyond  the  San- 
dusky Valley,  diverting  the  waters  east  and  west,  it 
is  appropriately  called  the  "  Summit  City.77  Here  the 
Maumee  Kiver  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the 
two  streams  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary,  and  flows 
through  the  prairie  towards  the  northeast,  to  make 
the  head  of  Lake  Erie.  The  French,  under  La  Salle, 
in  the  eighteenth  century  established  a  fur-trading 
post  here,  and  erected  Fort  Miami,  and  in  1760  the 
British  penetrated  to  this  then  remote  region  and 
also  built  a  fort.  During  the  Revolution  this  country 
was  abandoned  to  the  Indians,  but  when  General 
Wayne  defeated  the  Miamis  in  1794  he  thought  the 
place  would  make  a  good  frontier  outpost  to  hold  the 
savages  in  check,  and  he  then  constructed  a  strong 
work,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Fort  Wayne. 
Around  this  post  the  town  afterwards  grew,  being 
greatly  prospered  by  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal, 
and  by  the  various  railways  subsequently  constructed 
in  all  directions.  All  this  prairie  region  was  the 
hunting-ground  of  the  Miamis,  whose  domain  ex- 
tended westward  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  southward 
along  the  valley  of  the  Miami  River  to  the  Ohio. 
They  were  a  warlike  and  powerful  tribe,  and  their 
adherence  to  the  English  during  the  Revolution  pro- 
voked almost  constant  hostilities  with  the  settlers 
who  afterwards  came  across  .the  mountains  to  colo- 
lize   the  Northwest  Territory.     Under  the  leader- 


OLD  TIPPECANOE.  407 

fillip  of  their  renowned  chief  Mishekonequah,  or  the 
"Little  Turtle,"  they  defeated  repeated  expeditions 
sent  against  them,  until  finally  beaten  by  Wayne. 
Subsequently  they  dwindled  in  importance,  and  when 
removed  farther  west,  about  1848,  they  numbered 
barely  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons. 

OLD   TIPPECANOE. 

Some  distance  westward  is  the  Tippecanoe  River, 
a  stream  flowing  southwest  into  the  Wabash,  and 
thence  into  the  Ohio.  The  word  Tippecanoe  is  said 
to  mean  "  the  great  clearing,"  and  on  this  river  was 
fought  the  noted  battle  by  "  Old  Tippecanoe,"  Gen- 
eral William  Henry  Harrison,  against  the  combined 
forces  of  the  Shawnees,  Miamis  and  several  other 
tribes,  which  resulted  in  their  complete  defeat.  They 
were  united  under  Elskwatawa,  or  the  "  Prophet," 
the  brother  of  the  famous  Tecumseh.  These  two 
chieftains  were  Shawnees,  and  they  preached  a  cru- 
sade by  which  they  gathered  all  the  northwestern 
tribes  in  a  concerted  movement  to  resist  the  steady 
encroachments  of  the  whites.  The  brother,  who  was 
a  "medicine  man,"  in  1805  set  up  as  an  inspired 
prophet,  denouncing  the  use  of  liquors,  and  of  all 
food,  manners  and  customs  introduced  by  the  hated 
"  palefaces,"  and  confidently  predicted  they  would 
ultimately  be  driven  from  the  land.  For  years  both 
chiefs  travelled  over  the  country  stirring  up  the  In- 
dians.    General  Harrison,  who  was  the  Governor  of 


408     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

the  Northwest  Territory,  gathered  his  forces  together 
and  advanced  up  the  Wabash  against  the  Prophet's 
town  of  Tippecanoe,  when  the  Indians,  hoping  to 
surprise  him,  suddenly  attacked  his  camp,  but  he 
being  prepared,  they  were  signally  defeated,  thus 
giving  Harrison  his  popular  title  of  "  Old  Tippe- 
canoe," which  had  much  to  do  with  electing  him 
President  in  1840.  Some  time  after  this  defeat  the 
War  of  1812  broke  out,  when  Tecumseh  espoused  the 
English  cause,  went  to  Canada  with  his  warriors,  and 
was  made  a  brigadier-general.  He  was  killed  there 
in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  in  Ontario  Province, 
and  it  is  said  had  a  premonition  of  death,  for,  laying 
aside  his  general's  uniform,  he  put  on  a  hunting-dress 
and  fought  desperately  until  he  was  slain.  Tecumseh 
was  the  most  famous  Indian  chief  of  his  time,  and 
the  honor  of  killing  him  was  claimed  by  several  who 
fought  in  the  battle,  so  that  the  problem  of  "  Who 
killed  Tecumseh  V  was  long  discussed  throughout  the 
country. 

The  State  of  Indiana  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
in  1816,  and  in  its  centre,  built  upon  a  broad  plain, 
on  the  east  branch  of  White  River,  is  its  capital  and 
largest  city,  Indianapolis,  having  two  hundred  thou- 
sand population.  This  is  a  great  railway  centre, 
having  lines  radiating  in  all  directions,  and  it  also  has 
extensive  manufactures  and  a  large  trade  in  live 
stock.  The  city  plan,  with  wide  streets  crossing  at 
right  angles,  and  four   diagonal  avenues  radiating 


OLD  TIPPECANOE.  409 

from  a  circular  central  square,  makes  it  very  attrac- 
tive ;  and  the  residential  quarter,  displaying  tasteful 
houses,  ornate  grounds  and  shady  streets,  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  country.  The 
State  Capitol,  in  a  spacious  park,  is  a  Doric  building 
with  colonnade,  central  tower  and  dome,  and  in  an 
enclosure  on  its  eastern  front  is  erected  one  of  the 
finest  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Monuments  existing, 
rising  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet,  out-topping 
everything  around,  having  been  designed  and  largely 
constructed  in  Europe.  There  are  also  many  promi- 
nent public  buildings  throughout  the  city.  Indian- 
apolis, first  settled  in  1819,  had  but  a  small  popula- 
tion until  the  railways  centred  there,  the  Capitol  being 
removed  from  Cory  don  in  1825.  The  Wabash  River, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made,  receives  White 
River,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  affluents  of  the  Ohio, 
about  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  being  navi- 
gable over  half  that  length.  It  rises  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  flows  across  Indiana,  and,  turning  southward, 
makes  for  a  long  distance  the  Illinois  boundary.  Its 
chief  city  is  Terre  Haute,  the  "High  Ground," 
about  seventy  miles  west  of  Indianapolis,  another 
prominent  railroad  centre,  having  forty-five  thou- 
sand people,  with  extensive  manufactures.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  valuable  coal-fields,  is  built  upon  an  ele- 
vated plateau,  and,  like  all  these  prairie  cities,  is  noted 
for  its  many  broad  and  well-shaded  streets.  It  was 
founded  in  1816. 


410     AMEEICA,  PICTUBESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 


THE    GREAT  WEST. 

Progressing  westward,  the  timbered  prairie  grad- 
ually changes  to  the  grass-covered  prairie,  spreading 
everywhere  a  great  ocean  of  fertility.  Across  the 
Wabash  is  the  "  Prairie  State  w  of  Illinois,  its  name 
coming  from  its  principal  river,  which  the  Indians 
named  after  themselves.  The  word  is  a  French 
adaptation  of  the  Indian  name  "Illini,"  meaning 
"  the  superior  men,"  the  earliest  explorers  and  set- 
tlers having  been  French,  the  first  comers  on  the 
Illinois  River  being  Father  Marquette  and  La  Salle. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  their 
little  settlements  were  flourishing,  and  the  most  glow- 
ing accounts  were  sent  home,  describing  the  region, 
which  they  called  "  New  France,"  on  account  of  its 
beauty,  attractiveness  and  prodigious  fertility,  as  a 
new  Paradise.  There  were  many  years  of  Indian 
conflicts  and  hostility,  but  after  peace  was  restored 
and  a  stable  government  established,  population 
flowed  in,  and  Illinois  was  admitted  as  a  State  to  the 
Union  in  1818.  The  capital  was  established  at 
Springfield  in  1837,  an  attractive  city  of  about  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants,  built  on  a  prairie  a  few  miles 
south  of  Sangamon  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Illinois, 
and  from  its  floral  development  and  the  adornment  of 
its  gardens  and  shade  trees,  Springfield  is  popularly 
known  as  the  "  Flower  City."  There  is  a  magnifi- 
cent State  Capitol  with  high  surmounting  dome,  pat- 


THE  GREAT  WEST.  411 

terned  somewhat  after  the  Federal  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. Springfield  has  coal-mines  which  add  to  its 
prosperity,  but  its  great  fame  is  connected  with  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  He  lived  in  Springfield,  and  the  house 
he  occupied  when  elected  President  has  been  acquired 
by  the  State  and  is  on  public  exhibition.  After  his 
assassination  in  1865,  his  remains  were  brought  from 
Washington  to  Springfield,  and  interred  in  the  pic- 
turesque Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  in  the  northern  sub- 
urbs, where  a  magnificent  monument  was  erected  to 
his  memory  and  dedicated  in  1874.  About  sixty 
miles  north  of  Springfield,  the  Illinois  River  expands 
into  Peoria  Lake,  and  here  came  La  Salle  down  the 
river  in  1680,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  lake  established 
a  trading-post  and  fort,  one  of  the  earliest  in  that 
region.  When  more  than  a  century  had  elapsed,  a 
little  town  grew  there  which  is  now  the  busy  indus- 
trial city  of  Peoria,  famous  for  its  whiskey  and  glu- 
cose, and  turning  out  products  that  annually  approxi- 
mate a  hundred  millions,  furnishing  vast  traffic  for 
numerous  railroads.  It  is  the  chief  city  of  the  "  corn 
belt,"  and  is  served  by  all  the  prominent  trunk  rail- 
way lines. 

Like  the  pioneers  of  a  hundred  years  ago,  we  have 
left  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  crossed  the  Allegheny 
Mountains  and  entered  the  expansive  "Northwest 
Territory  "  which  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  the  Mecca  of  the  colonist  and  frontiers- 
man.    This  was  then   the  region   of  the   "Great 


412     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

West,"  though  that  has  since  moved  far  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  Its  agricultural  wealth  made  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country  for  many  decades,  and  its  pro- 
digious development  was  hardly  realized  until  put  to 
the  test  of  the  Civil  War,  when  it  poured  out  the 
men  and  officers,  and  had  the  staying  qualities  so 
largely  contributing  to  the  result  of  that  great  con- 
flict. Gradually  overspread  by  a  network  of  railways, 
the  numerous  a  cross-roads  "  have  expanded  every- 
where into  towns  and  cities,  almost  all  patterned 
alike,  and  all  of  them  centres  of  rich  farming  dis- 
tricts. Coal,  oil  and  gas  have  come  to  minister  to  its 
manufacturing  wants,  and  thus  growing  into  mature 
Commonwealths,  this  prolific  region  in  the  later  de- 
cades has  been  itself,  in  turn,  contributing  largely  to 
the  tide  of  migration  flowing  to  the  present  u  Great 
Northwest,"  a  thousand  miles  or  more  beyond.  It 
presents  a  rich  agricultural  picture,  but  little  scenic 
attractiveness.  Everywhere  an  almost  dead  level, 
the  numerous  railways  cross  and  recross  the  surface 
in  all  directions  at  grade,  and  are  easily  built,  it  being 
only  necessary  to  dig  a  shallow  ditch  on  either  side, 
throw  the  earth  in  the  centre,  and  lay  the  ties  and 
rails.  Nature  has  made  the  prairie  as  smooth  as  a 
lake,  so  that  hardly  any  grading  is  necessary,  and  the 
region  of  expansive  green  viewed  out  of  the  car 
window  has  been  aptly  described  as  having  "  a  face 
but  no  features,"  when  one  looks  afar  over  an  ocean 
of  waving  verdure. 


LAKE  ERIE.  413 

LAKE   ERIE. 

This  vast  prairie  extends  northward  to  and  beyond 
the  Great  Lakes,  and  it  is  recorded  that  in  the  early- 
history  of  the  proposed  legislation  for  the  "  North- 
west Territory,"  Congress  gravely  selected  as  the 
names  of  the  States  which  were  to  be  created  out  of 
it  such  ponderous  conglomerates  as  "  Mesopotamia," 
"  Assenispia,"  "  Pelisipia  "  and  "  Polypotamia,"  titles 
which  happily  were  long  ago  permitted  to  pass  into 
oblivion.  Northward,  in  Ohio,  the  region  stretches 
to  Lake  Erie,  the  most  southern  and  the  smallest  of 
the  group  of  Great  Lakes  above  Niagara.  It  is  re- 
garded as  the  least  attractive  lake,  having  neither 
romances  nor  much  scenery.  Yet,  from  its  favorable 
position,  it  carries  an  enormous  commerce.  It  is 
elliptical  in  form,  about  two  hundred  and  forty  miles 
long  and  sixty  miles  broad,  the  surface  being  five 
hundred  and  sixty-live  feet  above  the  ocean  level. 
It  is  a  very  shallow  lake,  the  depth  rarely  exceeding 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  excepting  at  the  lower 
end,  while  the  other  lakes  are  much  deeper,  and  in 
describing  this  difference  of  level  it  is  said  that  the 
surplus  waters  poured  from  the  vast  basins  of  Supe- 
rior, Michigan  and  Huron,  flow  across  the  plate  of 
Erie  into  the  deep  bowl  of  Ontario.  This  shallow- 
ness causes  it  to  be  easily  disturbed,  so  that  it  is  the 
most  dangerous  of  these  fresh-water  seas,  and  it  has 
few  harbors,  and  those  very  poor,  especially  upon  the 


414     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

southern  shore.  The  bottom  of  the  lake  is  a  light, 
clayey  sediment,  rapidly  accumulated  from  the  wear- 
ing away  of  the  shores,  largely  composed  of  clay 
strata.  The  loosely-aggregated  products  of  these  dis- 
integrated strata  are  frequently  seen  along  its  coast, 
forming  cliffs  extending  back  into  elevated  plateaus, 
through  which  the  rivers  cut  deep  channels.  Their 
mouths  are  clogged  by  sand-bars,  and  dredging  and 
breakwaters  have  made  the  harbors  on  the  southern 
shore,  around  which  have  grown  the  chief  towns — 
Dunkirk,  Erie,  Ashtabula,  Cleveland,  Sandusky  and 
Toledo.  The  name  of  Lake  Erie  comes  from  the 
Indian  "  tribe  of  the  Cat,"  whom  the  French  called 
the  u  Chats,"  because  their  early  explorers,  penetrat- 
ing to  the  shores  of  the  lake,  found  them  abounding 
in  wild  cats,  and  thus  they  gave  the  same  name  to 
the  cats  and  the  savages.  In  their  own  parlance, 
these  Indians  were  the  "  Eries,"  and  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  they  numbered  about  two  thousand 
warriors.  In  1656  the  Iroquois  attacked  and  almost 
annihilated  them. 

The  Lake  Erie  ports  in  the  "  Buckeye  State  w  of 
Ohio,  so  called  from  the  buckeye  tree,  are  chiefly 
harbors  for  shipping  coal  and  receiving  ores  from  the 
upper  lakes,  their  railroads  leading  to  the  great  in- 
dustrial centres  to  the  .southward.  Near  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Ohio  #  -^  Sheaut,  on  the  bank  of  a  wide 
and  deep  ravine,;  "ol!ned  by  a  small  river,  broadening 
into  a  bay  at  the  shore  of  the  lake,  the  name  mean- 


LAKE  ERIE.  415 

ing  "  many  fish."  Here  landed  in  1796  the  first  set- 
tlers from  Connecticut,  who  entered  the  u  Western 
Reserve,"  as  all  this  region  was  then  called.  On  July 
4th  of  that  year,  celebrating  the  national  anniver- 
sary, "  they  pledged  each  other  in  tin  cups  of  lake 
water,  accompanied  by  a  salute  of  fowling-pieces," 
and  the  next  day  began  building  the  first  house  on 
the  Reserve,  constructed  of  logs,  and  long  known  as 
"  Stow  Castle."  Conneaut  is  consequently  known  as 
the  "Plymouth  of  the  Western  Reserve,"  as  here 
began  the  settlements  made  by  the  Puritan  New  Eng- 
land migration  to  Ohio.  On  deep  ravines  making 
their  harbors  are  Ashtabula,  an  enormous  entrepdt  for 
ores,  and  a  few  miles  farther  westward,  Painesville, 
on  Grand  River,  named  for  Thomas  Paine.  Beyond 
is  Mentor,  the  home  of  the  martyred  President  Gar- 
field, whose  large  white  house  stands  near  the  rail- 
way. All  along  here,  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie 
is  a  broad  terrace  at  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  ele- 
vation above  the  water,  while  farther  inland  is  another 
and  considerably  higher  plateau.  Each  sharp  de- 
clivity facing  northward  seems  at  one  time  to  have 
been  the  actual  shore  of  the  lake  when  its  surface 
before  the  waters  receded  was  much  higher  than 
now.  The  outer  plateau  having  once  been  the 
overflowed  lake  bed,  is  I^vaJ,  excepting  where  the 
crooked  but  attractive  IK****  «  have  deeply  cut 
their  winding  ravines  down  thi*^  :h  it  to  reach  Lake 
Erie. 


416     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
THE   CITY  OF   CLEVELAND. 

Thus  we  come  to  Cleveland,  the  second  city  in 
Ohio,  having  four  hundred  thousand  people,  and  ex- 
tensive manufacturing  industries.  It  is  the  capital 
of  the  "  Western  Reserve "  and  the  chief  city  of 
Northern  Ohio,  its  commanding  position  upon  a  high 
bluff,  falling  off  precipitously  to  the  edge  of  the 
water,  giving  it  the  most  attractive  situation  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Erie.  Shade  trees  embower  it,  includ- 
ing many  elms  planted  by  the  early  settlers,  who 
learned  to  love  them  in  New  England,  and  hence  it 
delights  in  the  popular  title  of  the  "  Forest  City." 
Were  not  the  streets  so  wide,  the  profusion  of  foliage 
might  make  Cleveland  seem  like  a  town  in  the  woods. 
The  little  Cuyahoga  River,  its  name  meaning  "  the 
crooked  stream,"  flows  with  wayward  course  down  a 
deeply  washed  and  winding  ravine,  making  a  valley 
in  the  centre  of  the  city,  known  as  "  the  Flats,"  and 
this,  with  the  tributary  ravines  of  some  smaller 
streams,  is  packed  with  factories  and  foundries,  oil  re- 
fineries and  lumber  mills,  their  chimneys  keeping  the 
business  section  constantly  under  a  cloud  of  smoke. 
Railways  run  in  all  directions  over  these  flats  and 
through  the  ravines,  while,  high  above,  the  city  has 
built  a  stone  viaduct  nearly  a  half-mile  long,  crossing 
the  valley.  Here  are  the  great  works  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company,  controlling  that  trade,  and  several  of 
the  petroleum  magnates  have  their  palaces  in  the  city. 


THE  CITY  OF  CLEVELAND.  417 

Old  Moses  Cleaveland,  a  shrewd  but  unsatisfied 
Puritan  of  the  town  of  Windham,  Connecticut,  be- 
came the  agent  of  the  Connecticut  Lead  Company, 
who  brought  out  the  first  colony  in  1796  that  landed 
at  Conneaut.  They  explored  the  lake  shore,  and 
selecting  as  a  good  location  the  mouth  of  Cuyahoga 
River,  Moses  wrote  back  to  his  former  home  that 
they  had  found  a  spot  "  on  the  bank  of  Lake  Erie 
which  was  called  by  my  name,  and  I  believe  the 
child  is  now  born  that  may  live  to  see  that  place  as 
large  as  old  Windham."  In  little  over  a  century  the 
town  has  grown  far  beyond  his  wildest  dreams,  al- 
though it  did  not  begin  to  expand  until  the  era  of 
canals  and  railways,  and  it  was  not  so  long  ago  that 
the  people  in  grateful  memory  erected  a  bronze  statue 
of  the  founder.  One  of  the  local  antiquaries,  delv- 
ing into  the  records,  has  found  why  various  original 
settlers  made  their  homes  at  Cleveland.  He  learned 
that  "  one  man,  on  his  way  farther  West,  was  laid  up 
with  the  ague  and  had  to  stop ;  another  ran  out  of 
money  and  could  get  no  farther ;  another  had  been 
to  St.  Louis  and  wanted  to  get  back  home,  but  saw  a 
chance  to  make  money  in  ferrying  people  across  the 
river ;  another  had  $200  over,  and  started  a  bank ; 
while  yet  another  thought  he  could  make  a  living  by 
manufacturing  ox-yokes,  and  he  stayed."  This 
earnest  investigator  continues :  "  A  man  with  an 
agricultural  eye  would  look  at  the  soil  and  kick  his 
toe  into  it,  and  then  would  shake  his  head  and  de- 


418     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DE8CKIPTIVE. 

clare  that  it  would  not  grow  white  beans — but  he 
knew  not  what  this  soil  would  bring  forth ;  his  hope 
and  trust  was  in  beans,  he  wanted  to  know  them 
more,  and  wanted  potatoes,  corn,  oats  and  cabbage, 
and  he  knew  not  the  future  of  Euclid  Avenue." 

On  either  side  of  the  deep  valley  of  "  the  Flats  n 
stretch  upon  the  plateau  the  long  avenues  of  Cleve- 
land, with  miles  of  pleasant  residences,  surrounded 
by  lawns  and  gardens,  each  house  isolated  in  green, 
and  the  whole  appearing  like  a  vast  rural  village 
more  than  a  city.  This  pleasant  plan  of  construc- 
tion had  its  origin  in  the  New  England  ideas  of  the 
people.  Yet  the  city  also  has  a  numerous  population 
of  Germans,  and  it  is  .recorded  that  one  of  the  early 
landowners  wrote,  in  explaining  his  project  of  set- 
tlement :  "  If  I  make  the  contract  for  thirty  thousand 
acres,  I  expect  with  all  speed  to  send  you  fifteen  or 
twenty  families  of  prancing  Dutchmen."  These 
Teutons  came  and  multiplied,  for  the  original  Puritan 
stock  can  hardly  be  responsible  for  the  vineyards  of 
the  neighborhood,  the  music  and  dancing,  and  the 
public  gardens  along  the  pleasant  lake  shore,  where 
the  crowds  go,  when  work  is  over,  to  enjoy  recreation 
and  watch  the  gorgeous  summer  sunsets  across  the 
bosom  of  the  lake  which  are  the  glory  of  Cleveland. 
Upon  the  plateau,  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  the  Monu- 
mental Park,  where  stand  the  statue  of  Moses  Cleave- 
land,  the  founder,  who  died  in  1806,  and  a  fine 
Soldiers'  Monument,  with  also  a  statue  of  Commodore 


THE  CITY  OF  CLEVELAND.  419 

Perry.  This  Park  is  an  attractive  enclosure  of  about 
ten  acres,  having  fountains,  gardens,  monuments  and 
a  little  lake,  and  it  is  intersected  at  right  angles  by- 
two  broad  streets,  and  surrounded  by  important 
buildings.  One  of  the  streets  is  the  chief  business 
highway,  Superior  Street,  and  the  other  leads  down 
to  the  edge  of  the  bluff  on  the  lake  shore,  where  the 
steep  slope  is  made  into  a  pleasure-ground,  with  more 
flower-beds  and  fountains  and  a  pleasant  outlook  over 
the  water,  although  at  its  immediate  base  is  a  laby- 
rinth of  railroads  and  an  ample  supply  of  smoke  from 
the  numerous  locomotives.  A  long  breakwater  pro- 
tects the  harbor  entrance,  and  out  under  the  lake  is 
bored  the  water-works  tunnel. 

There  extends  far  to  the  eastward,  from  a  corner 
of  the  Monumental  Park,  Cleveland's  famous  street — 
Euclid  Avenue.  The  people  regard  it  as  the  hand- 
somest highway  in  America,  in  the  combined  mag- 
nificence of  houses  and  grounds.  It  is  a  level  ave- 
nue of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  width,  with 
a  central  roadway  and  stone  footwalks  on  either  hand, 
shaded  by  rows  of  grand  overarching  elms,  and  bor- 
dered on  both  sides  by  well-kept  lawns.  This  is  the 
public  highway,  every  part  being  kept  scrupulously 
neat,  while  a  light  railing  marks  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  street  and  the  private  grounds.  For  a 
long  distance  this  noble  avenue  is  bordered  by  stately 
residences,  each  surrounded  by  ample  gardens,  the 
stretch  of  grass,  flowers  and  foliage  extending  back 


420     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

from  one  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet  between  the 
street  and  the  buildings.  Embowered  in  trees,  and 
with  all  the  delights  of  garden  and  lawn  seen  in  every 
direction,  this  grand  avenue  makes  a  delightful  drive- 
way and  promenade.  Upon  it  live  the  multi-mil- 
lionaires of  Cleveland,  the  finest  residences  being 
upon  the  northern  side,  where  they  have  invested 
part  of  the  profits  of  their  railways,  mills,  mines,  oil 
wells  and  refineries  in  adorning  their  homes  and  orna- 
menting their  city.  This  splendid  boulevard,  in  one 
way,  is  a  reproduction  of  the  Parisian  Avenue  of  the 
Champs  Elysees  and  its  gardens,  but  with  more  at- 
tractions in  the  surroundings  of  its  bordering  rows 
of  palaces.  Here  live  the  men  who  vie  with  those  of 
Chicago  in  controlling  the  commerce  of  the  lakes  and 
the  affairs  of  the  Northwest.  Plenty  of  room  and  an 
abundance  of  income  are  necessary  to  provide  each 
man,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  with  two  to  ten  acres 
of  lawns  and  gardens  around  his  house,  but  it  is  done 
here  with  eminent  success.  About  four  miles  out  is 
the  beautiful  Wade  Park,  opposite  which  are  the 
handsome  buildings  of  the  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity, having,  with  its  adjunct  institutions,  a  thou- 
sand students.  Beyond  this,  the  avenue  ends  at  the 
attractive  Lake  View  Cemetery,  where,  on  the 
highest  part  of  the  elevated  plateau,  with  a  grand 
outlook  over  Lake  Erie,  is  the  grave  of  the  assassi- 
nated President  Garfield.  His  imposing  memorial 
rises  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet. 


CLEVELAND  TO  CHICAGO.  421 

CLEVELAND  TO   CHICAGO. 

Thirty-five  miles  southwest  of  Cleveland,  and 
some  distance  inland  from  Lake  Erie,  is  Oberlin, 
where,  in  a  fertile  and  prosperous  district,  is  the 
leading  educational  foundation  of  Northern  Ohio — 
Oberlin  College — named  in  memory  of  the  noted 
French  philanthropist,  and  established  in  1833  by 
the  descendants  of  the  Puritan  colonists,  to  carry  out 
their  idea  of  thorough  equality  in  education.  It  ad- 
mits students  without  distinction  of  sex  or  color,  and 
has  about  thirteen  hundred,  almost  equally  divided 
between  the  sexes,  occupying  a  cluster  of  commo- 
dious buildings.  To  the  westward  is  the  beautiful 
ravine  of  Black  River,  which  gets  out  to  the  lake  by 
falling  over  a  rocky  ledge  in  two  streams,  and  on  the 
peninsula  formed  by  its  forks  is  the  town  of  Elyria. 
Maria  Ely  was  the  wife  of  the  founder  of  the  set- 
tlement, who  named  it  after  her  in  this  peculiar  re- 
versible way.  This  romantic  stream  bounds  the 
"  Fire  Lands  "  of  the  Western  Reserve,  a  tract  of 
nearly  eight  hundred  square  miles  abutting  on  the 
lake  shore,  which  Connecticut  set  apart  for  coloniza- 
tion by  her  people,  who  had  been  sufferers  from  de- 
structive fires  in  the  towns  of  New  London,  Fairfield 
and  Norwalk  on  Long  Island  Sound.  They  secured 
this  wilderness  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  their  chief  town  is  Sandusky,  with 
twenty-five  thousand  population.     Here  lived  most 


422     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

of  the  Eries,  the  Indian  "tribe  of  the  Cat,"  who 
fished  in  Sandusky  Bay,  its  upper  waters  being  an 
archipelago  of  little  green  islands  abounding  with 
water  fowl.  They  were  known  to  the  adjoining 
tribes  as  the  "  Neutral  Nation,"  for  they  maintained 
two  villages  of  refuge  on  Sandusky  Kiver,  between 
the  warlike  Indians  of  the  east  and  the  west,  and 
whoever  entered  their  boundaries  was  safe  from  pur- 
suit, the  sanctuary  being  rigidly  observed.  The 
early  French  missionaries  who  found  them  in  the 
seventeenth  century  speak  of  these  anomalous  vil- 
lages among  the  savages  as  having  then  been  long 
in  existence. 

The  name  of  Sandusky  is  a  corruption  of  a  Wy- 
andot word  meaning  "  cold-water  pools,"  the  French 
having  originally  rendered  it  as  Sandosquet.  The 
shores  are  low,  but  there  is  a  good  harbor  and  much 
trade,  and  here  is  located  the  Ohio  State  Fish 
Hatchery.  The  railroads  are  laid  among  the  savan- 
nahs and  lagoons,  and  one  of  the  suburban  stations 
has  been  not  inaptly  named  Venice.  There  are  ex- 
tensive vineyards  on  the  flat  and  sunny  shores  of  the 
bay,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  grape  dis- 
tricts in  the  State.  Sandusky  Bay  is  a  broad  sheet 
of  water,  in  places  six  miles  wide,  and  about  twenty 
miles  long.  Sandusky  has  a  large  timber  trade, 
being  noted  for  the  manufacture  of  hard  woods.  Out 
beyond  the  bold  peninsula,  protruding  into  the  lake 
at  the  entrance  to  the  bay,  is  a  group  of  islands 


CLEVELAND  TO  CHICAGO.  423 

spreading  over  the  southwestern  waters  of  Lake 
Erie,  of  which  Kelly's  Island  is  the  chief,  an  archi- 
pelago formed  largely  from  the  detritus  washed  out 
of  the  Detroit,  Maumee  and  various  other  rivers 
flowing  into  the  head  of  the  lake.  Here  the  Erie 
Indians  had  a  fortified  stronghold,  whose  outlines  can 
still  be  traced.  The  most  noted  of  the  group  is  Put- 
in-Bay Island,  now  a  popular  watering-place,  which 
got  its  name  from  Commodore  Perry,  who  "  put  in  " 
there  with  the  captured  British  fleet  at  the  naval 
battle  of  Lake  Erie,  September  10,  1813.  It  was 
from  this  place,  just  after  his  victory,  that  he  sent  the 
historic  despatch,  giving  him  fame,  u  We  have  met 
the  enemy  and  they  are  ours."  The  killed  of  both 
fleets  were  buried  side  by  side  near  the  beach  on  the 
island,  the  place  being  marked  by  a  mound.  The 
lovely  sheet  of  water  of  Put-in-Bay  glistens  in  front, 
having  the  towns  of  villa-crowned  Gibraltar  Island 
upon  its  surface.  Vineyards  and  roses  abound,  these 
islands,  like  the  adjacent  shores,  being  noted  for  their 
wines. 

The  Maumee  River,  coming  up  from  Fort  Wayne, 
flows  into  the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  the  largest  stream 
on  its  southern  coast.  It  comes  from  the  southwest 
through  the  region  of  the  "  Black  Swamp,"  a  vast 
district,  originally  morass  and  forest,  which  has  been 
drained  to  make  a  most  fertile  country.  This  "  mis- 
erable bog,"  as  the  original  settlers  denounced  it, 
when  they  were  jolted  over  the  rude  corduroy  roads 


424     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

that  sustained  them  upon  the  quaking  morass,  has 
since  become  the  "  prolific  garden "  and  u  magnificent 
forest  *  described  by  the  modern  tourist.  The  Mau- 
mee  Valley  was  an  almost  continual  battle-ground 
with  the  Indians  when  "Mad  Anthony  Wayne " 
commanded  on  that  frontier,  he  being  called  by  them 
the  "  Wind/7  because  u  he  drives  and  tears  every- 
thing before  him."  For  a  quarter  of  a  century 
border  warfare  raged  along  this  river,  then  known 
as  the  "  Miami  of  the  Lakes,"  and  its  chief  settle- 
ment, Toledo,  passed  its  infancy  in  a  baptism  of  blood 
and  fire.  It  was  at  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers, 
fought  in  1794,  almost  on  the  site  of  Toledo,  that 
Wayne  gave  his  laconic  and  noted  u  field  orders." 
General  William  Henry  Harrison,  then  his  aide,  told 
Wayne  just  before  the  battle  he  was  afraid  he  would 
get  into  the  fight  and  forget  to  give  u  the  necessary 
field  orders."  Wayne  replied  :  "  Perhaps  I  may,  and 
if  I  do,  recollect  that  the  standing  order  for  the  day 
is,  charge  the  rascals  with  the  bayonets."  Toledo 
is  built  on  the  flat  surface  on  both  sides  of  the  Mau- 
mee  River  and  Bay,  which  make  it  a  good  harbor, 
stretching  six  miles  down  to  Lake  Erie.  There  are 
a  hundred  thousand  population  here,  and  this  ener- 
getic reproduction  of  the  ancient  Spanish  city  has 
named  its  chief  newspaper  the  Toledo  Blade.  The 
city  has  extensive  railway  connections  and  a  large 
trade  in  lumber  and  grain,  coal  and  ores,  and  does 
much  manufacturing,  it  being  well  served  with  natu- 


THE  GREAT  CITY  OF  THE  LAKES.  425 

ral  gas.  A  dozen  grain  elevators  line  the  river 
banks,  and  the  factory  smokes  overhang  the  broad 
low-lying  city  like  a  pall.  To  the  westward,  cross- 
ing the  rich  lands  of  the  reclaimed  swamp,  is  the  In- 
diana boundary,  that  State  being  here  a  broad  and 
level  prairie,  which  also  stretches  northward  into 
Michigan.  The  chief  town  of  Northern  Indiana  is 
South  Bend,  named  from  the  sweeping  southern  bend 
of  St.  Joseph  River,  on  which  it  is  built.  This  stream 
rises  in  Michigan,  and  flows  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  over  the  prairie,  going  down  into  Indiana  and 
then  back  again  to  empty  into  Lake  Michigan.  South 
Bend  is  noted  for  its  carriage-  and  wagon-building 
factories,  and  has  several  flourishing  Roman  Catholic 
institutions,  generally  of  French  origin.  To  the 
westward  spreads  the  level  prairie,  with  scant  scenic 
attractions,  though  rich  in  agriculture,  to  the  shores 
of  Lake  Michigan,  being  gridironed  with  railways  as 
Chicago  is  approached. 

THE  GREAT  CITY  OF  THE  LAKES. 

The  second  city  in  the  United  States,  with  a  popu- 
lation approximating  two  millions,  Chicago,  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  prairies,  seems  destined  for  unlimited 
growth.  It  has  absorbed  all  the  outlying  towns,  and 
now  embraces  nearly  two  hundred  square  miles.  It. 
has  a  water-front  on  Lake  Michigan  of  twenty-six 
miles,  and  its  trade  constantly  grows.  It  pushes 
ahead  with  boundless  energy,  attracting  the  shrewd- 


426     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

est  men  of  the  West  to  take  part  in  its  vast  and 
profitable  enterprises,  and  is  in  such  a  complete  man- 
ner the  depot  and  storehouse  for  the  products  and 
supplies  of  goods  for  the  enormous  prairie  region 
around  it,  and  for  the  entire  Northwest,  and  the 
country  out  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Pacific 
Ocean,  that  other  Western  cities  cannot  displace  or 
even  hope  to  rival  it.  Yet  it  is  a  youthful  giant,  of 
quick  and  marvellous  development,  but  few  of  its 
leading  spirits  having  been  born  within  its  limits, 
nearly  all  being  attracted  thither  by  its  paramount 
advantages.  The  prominent  characteristics  of  Chi- 
cago are  an  overhanging  pall  of  smoke ;  streets 
crowded  with  quick-moving,  busy  people  5  a  vast  ag- 
gregation of  railways,  vessels,  elevators  and  traffic 
of  all  kinds  ;  a  polyglot  population  drawn  from  almost 
all  races ;  and  an  earnest  devotion  to  the  almighty 
dollar.  Its  name  came  from  the  river,  and  is  of  In- 
dian origin,  regarded  as  probably  a  corruption  of 
u  Cheecagua,"  the  title  of  a  dynasty  of  chiefs  who 
controlled  the  country  west  and  south  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan. This  also  was  a  word  applied  in  the  Indian 
dialect  to  the  wild  onion  growing  luxuriantly  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  and  they  gave  a  similar 
name  to  the  thunder  which  they  believed  the  voice 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  to  the  odorous  animal 
abounding  in  the  neighborhood  that  the  white  man 
knew  as  the  u  polecat."  These  were  rather  incon- 
gruous uses  for  the  same  word,  but  the  suggestion 


THE  GEEAT  CITY  OF  THE  LAKE&  427 

has  been  made  that  all  can  be  harmonized  if  Chicago 
is  interpreted  as  meaning  "strong,"  the  Indians, 
being  poorly  supplied  with  words,  usually  selecting 
the  most  prominent  attribute  in  giving  names.  All 
these  things  are  in  one  way  or  another  "  strong," 
and  it  is  evident  that  prodigious  strength  exists  in 
Chicago. 

As  elsewhere  throughout  the  Northwest,  the  French 
missionaries  were  here  the  earliest  explorers,  Father 
Marquette  coming  in  1673,  and  afterwards  Hennepin, 
Joliet  and  La  Salle,  whose  names  are  so  numerously 
reproduced  in  the  Northwestern  States.  The  French 
built  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Fort  Chicagou,  for  a 
trading-post,  and  held  it  until  the  English  conquered 
Canada.  When  the  earlier  American  settlers  ven- 
tured to  this  frontier,  the  Indians  on  Lake  Michigan 
were  the  Pottawatomies,  and  were  hostile.  The 
Government  in  1804  built  Fort  Dearborn,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Chicago  River,  to  control  them.  These 
Indians  joined  in  the  crusade  of  the  Prophet  and 
Tecumseh,  and  when  the  war  with  England  began  in 
1812,  attacked  and  captured  the  fort,  massacring 
the  garrison.  The  post  was  subsequently  re-estab- 
lished, and  the  Indians  were  ultimately  removed  west 
of  the  Mississippi.  Not  long  afterwards  it  was  said 
the  first  purchase  of  the  site  of  Chicago  took  place, 
wherein  a  large  part  of  the  land  now  occupied  was 
sold  for  a  pair  of  boots.  When  the  town  plot  was 
originally  surveyed,  twelve  families  were  there  in 
Vol.  I.— 19 


428     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

addition  to  the  garrison  of  Fort  Dearborn,  and  in 
1831  it  had  one  hundred  people.  In  1833  the  town 
government  was  organized,  and  it  had  five  hundred 
and  fifty  inhabitants  and  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  buildings.  Five  trustees  then  ruled  Chicago,  and 
collected  $49  for  the  first  year's  taxes.  Collis  P. 
Huntington,  the  Pacific  Railway  manager,  says  that 
in  1835,  being  possessed  of  a  good  constitution  and 
a  pair  of  mules,  but  little  else,  he  was  out  that  way 
prospecting,  and  found  at  Chicago  nothing  but  a 
swamp  and  a  few  destitute  farmers,  all  anxious  to 
move.  One  of  these  farmers  came  to  him  with  the 
deed  of  his  farm  of  two  thousand  acres,  and  offered 
to  trade  it  for  his  pair  of  mules.  Huntington  adds : 
u  I  was  not  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  settle- 
ment and  declined  his  offer,  and  finally  continued  my 
travel  west,  and  that  farm  is  to-day  the  business 
centre  of  Chicago." 

In  1837  Chicago  got  its  first  city  charter,  and  it 
then  had  about  forty-two  hundred  people.  The  rapid 
growth  since  has  been  unparalleled,  especially  when, 
after  1850,  its  commercial  enterprise  began  attract- 
ing wide  attention,  the  population  then  being  about 
thirty  thousand.  In  1855,  to  get  above  the  swamp 
and  improve  the  drainage,  the  level  of  the  entire  city 
was  raised  seven  feet,  huge  buildings  being  elevated 
bodily  while  business  was  progressing,  an  enterprise 
mainly  accomplished  by  the  ingenious  devices  which 
first  gave  prominence  to  the  late  George  M.  Pullman. 


THE  GREAT  CITY  OF  THE  LAKES.  429 

The  population  almost  quadrupled  and  its  trade  in- 
creased tenfold  in  the  decade  1850-60,  and  in  1870 
the  population  was  over  three  hundred  thousand,  and 
it  had  become  a  leading  American  city.  Yet  Chicago 
has  had  terrible  setbacks  in  its  wonderful  career,  the 
most  awful  being  the  fire  in  October,  1871,  the 
greatest  of  modern  times,  which  raged  for  three  days, 
burned  over  a  surface  of  nearly  four  square  miles 
and  until  practically  nothing  remained  in  the  district 
to  devour,  destroyed  eighteen  thousand  buildings,  two 
hundred  lives,  and  property  valued  at  $200,000,000, 
leaving  a  hundred  thousand  people  homeless — a 
calamity  that  excited  the  sympathies  of  the  world, 
which  gave  relief  contributions  aggregating  $7,000,- 
000.  Yet  while  the  embers  were  smoking,  this  en- 
terprising people  set  to  work  to  rebuild  their  city 
with  a  will  and  a  progress  which  caused  almost  as 
much  amazement  as  the  original  catastrophe.  The 
recovery  was  complete  ;  the  city  which  had  been  of 
wood  was  rebuilt  of  brick  and  stone  and  iron  and 
steel,  and  its  progress  since  has  developed  an  energy 
not  before  equalled.  It  has  been  beautified  by  grand 
parks  and  boulevards,  and  by  the  construction  of 
palatial  residences  and  business  blocks,  and  of  enor- 
mous office  buildings,  the  tall  "  sky-scrapers  n  having 
been  first  invented  and  built  in  Chicago.  In  1893 
the  World's  Columbian  Exhibition,  to  celebrate  the 
discovery  of  America,  was  held  at  Chicago  on  a  vast 
scale  and  with  remarkable  success.     The  city  has 


430     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

long  been,  also,  a  favorite  meeting-place  for  the  great 
political  Conventions  nominating  candidates  for  Pres- 
ident and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  its 
large  hotel  capacity  and  immense  halls  giving  advan- 
tages for  these  enormous  assemblages. 

Chicago's  admirable  location. 

The  position  of  Chicago  at  the  southwestern  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  Michigan,  with  prairies  of  the 
greatest  fertility  stretching  hundreds  of  miles  south 
and  west,  makes  the  city  the  primary  food-gatherer 
and  supply-distributor  of  the  great  Northwest,  and 
this  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  its  growth.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1833,  the  Pottawatomies  agreed  to  sell  their 
prairie  homes  to  the  United  States  and  migrate  io 
reservations  farther  West,  and  seven  thousand  of 
them  assembled  in  grand  council  at  Chicago,  and  sold 
the  Government  twenty  millions  of  acres  of  these 
prairies  around  Lake  Michigan,  in  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Michigan,  for  $1,100,000.  Thus  was  this  fertile 
domain  opened  to  settlement.  In  the  Indian  dialect, 
Michigan  means  the  "great  water,"  and  it  is  the 
largest  lake  within  the  United  States,  being  three 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  long  and  seventy  broad, 
and  having  an  average  depth  of  one  thousand  feet, 
with  the  surface  elevated  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  feet  above  the  ocean  level.  On  the  Chicago 
side  this  extensive  lake  has  but  a  narrow  watershed, 
the  Illinois  River,  draining  the  region  to  the  west- 


CHICAGO'S  ADMIEABLE  LOCATION.  431 

ward,  being  formed  only  sixty-five  miles  southwest 
of  the  lake  by  the  junction  of  the  Kankakee  and 
Desplaines  Rivers.  This  narrow  and  very  low  water- 
shed, considered  in  connection  with  the  enormous 
capacity  of  the  Illinois  River  valley,  which  is  at  a 
much  lower  level  and  appears  as  if  worn  by  a  mighty 
current  in  former  times,  is  regarded  by  geologists  as 
an  evidence  of  the  probability  that  the  Lake  Michi- 
gan waters  may  in  past  ages  have  found  their  way  to 
that  outlet  and  flowed  through  the  Illinois  and  Mis- 
sissippi Rivers  to  the  Grulf.  The  diminutive  bayou 
of  the  Chicago  River,  with  its  two  short  and  tortuous 
branches,  made  Chicago  the  leading  lake  port,  and 
thus  brought  trade,  so  that  early  in  the  race  it  far 
outstripped  all  its  Western  rivals.  Every  railroad  of 
prominence  sought  an  outlet  or  a  feeder  at  Chicago, 
and  the  title  of  a  "  trunk  line "  was  adopted  for  a 
line  of  rails  between  Chicago  and  the  seaboard.  The 
surrounding  prairie  for  miles  is  crossed  in  all  direc- 
tions by  railways,  and  a  large  part  of  the  city  and 
suburbs  is  made  up  of  huge  stations,  car-yards,  ele- 
vators, storehouses  and  cattle-pens,  almost  over- 
whelming visitors  with  the  prodigious  scale  of 
their  elaborate  perplexity.  The  maze  of  railways 
and  streets  on  the  level  surface,  all  crossing  at  grade, 
as  it  has  spread  over  miles  of  prairie  and  grown  into 
such  enormous  proportions,  presents  a  most  serious 
problem,  with  which  the  city  and  the  railways  are 
now  dealing  on  a  comprehensive  plan,  by  which  it  is 


432     AMEKICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

hoped  that  oefore  long  the  grade-crossings  will  be 
eliminated. 

Another  problem,  found  even  more  serious  as  the 
city  grew,  was  the  drainage.  In  former  years  the 
sewage  was  discharged  into  the  Chicago  River  and 
Lake  Michigan.  The  river  became  a  most  malodor- 
ous stream  in  consequence,  and  as  it  had  practically 
no  descent,  the  current  would  scarcely  flow,  and  the 
lake,  from  which  the  city  water-supply  was  drawn, 
was  more  and  more  polluted.  With  the  customary 
enterprise  of  these  wonderful  people,  however,  they 
decided  to  make  the  only  change  feasible,  which  was 
to  take  advantage  of  the  descending  watershed  to- 
wards Desplaines  River  and  change  their  sewerage 
system  so  that  it  would  all  discharge  in  that  direction. 
The  problem  was  solved  by  the  construction  of  the 
most  expensive  drainage  works  in  the  world,  and  a 
complete  change  of  the  sewers,  at  a  cost  altogether 
approximating  $40,000,000.  St.  Louis  and  the  towns 
along  the  Desplaines  fought  the  scheme,  and  there 
was  protracted  litigation,  but  the  very  existence  of 
Chicago  depended  on  the  result.  The  great  drainage 
canal  was  completed  connecting  the  Chicago  River 
South  Branch  with  Desplaines  River  at  Lockport, 
twenty-eight  miles  southwest,  where  it  discharges  the 
outflow  from  Lake  Michigan,  which  then  flows  past 
Joliet,  and  ultimately  into  Illinois  River.  This  huge 
canal,  opened  in  January,  1900,  reverses  the  flow  of 
the  Chicago  River,  which  now  draws  in  about  three 


FEATURES  OF  CHICAGO.  433 

hundred  thousand  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute  from 
Lake  Michigan  and  flushes  the  canal,  which  is  also  to 
be  made  available  for  shipping.  Thus  the  Chicago 
Kiver  flows  towards  its  source  with  a  free  current, 
and  Lake  Michigan  has  been  purified.  The  canal  has 
quite  a  descent  to  Lockport,  and  the  water-power  is 
to  be  availed  of  in  generating  electricity.  The  city- 
water-supply  is  drawn  from  cribs  out  in  the  lake 
through  four  systems  of  tunnels,  aggregating  twenty- 
two  miles,  furnishing  an  ample  service,  and  pumping- 
stations  in  various  locations  elevate  the  water  in 
towers  to  secure  sufficient  head  for  the  flow  into  the 
buildings.  The  chief  of  these  towers,  a  solid  stone 
structure  alongside  the  lake,  rises  one  hundred  and 
sixty  feet,  the  huge  pumping-engines  forcing  a  vast 
stream  constantly  over  its  top. 

FEATURES    OF    CHICAGO. 

Chicago  is  the  world's  greatest  grain,  lumber  and 
cattle  market.  It  attracts  immigrants  from  every- 
where, and  all  flourish  in  native  luxuriance,  although 
occasionally  they  are  compelled  to  bow  to  the  power 
of  the  law  by  the  military  arm  when  civil  forces  are 
exhausted.  Everything  seems  to  go  on  without 
much  hindrance,  and  thus  this  wonderful  city  secures 
its  rapid  growth  and  completely  cosmopolitan  char- 
acter. While  proud  of  their  amazing  progress,  the 
people  seem  generally  so  engrossed  in  pushing  busi- 
ness enterprises  and  piling  up  fortunes  that  they  have 


434     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

little  time  to  think  of  much  else.  Yet  somebody  has 
had  opportunity  to  plan  the  adornment  of  the  city  by 
a  magnificent  series  of  parks  and  boulevards  encir- 
cling it.  The  broad  expanse  of  prairie  was  low, 
level  and  treeless  originally,  but  abundant  trees  have 
since  been  planted,  and  art  has  made  little  lakes  and 
miniature  hills,  beautiful  flower-gardens  and  abund- 
ant shrubbery,  thus  producing  pleasure-grounds  of 
rare  attractions.  Michigan  Avenue  and  Drexel  and 
Grand  Boulevards,  leading  to  the  southern  system  of 
parks  and  Lake  Shore  Drive  on  the  north  side  of 
Chicago  River,  are  the  finest  residential  streets.  The 
huge  Auditorium  fronting  on  Michigan  Avenue  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $3,500,000,  includes  a  hotel  and 
theatre,  and  is  surmounted  with  a  tower  rising  two 
hundred  and  seventy  feet,  giving  a  fine  view  over 
the  city  and  lake.  Out  in  front  is  the  Lake  Park, 
with  railways  beyond  near  the  shore,  and  a  fine 
bronze  equestrian  statue  of  General  John  A.  Logan, 
who  died  in  1886  and  is  buried  in  the  crypt  beneath 
the  monument.  Michigan  Avenue  begins  at  Chicago 
River  alongside  the  site  of  old  Fort  Dearborn,  now 
obliterated,  and  it  stretches  far  south,  a  tree-lined 
boulevard  adorned  by  magnificent  residences. 

Chicago  River,  with  its  entrance  protected  by  a 
wide-spreading  breakwater,  is  the  harbor  of  the  city, 
and,  like  its  railways,  carries  the  trade.  Tunnels  con- 
duct various  streets  under  it,  and  a  multitude  of 
bridges  go  over  it,  all  of  them  opening  to  let  vessels 


FEATURES  OF  CHICAGO.  435 

pass.  They  are  mostly  swinging  bridges,  but  some 
are  ingenious  constructions,  which  roll,  and  lift  and 
fold,  and  in  various  curious  ways  open  the  channel  for 
the  shipping.  Huge  elevators  line  the  river  banks, 
with  vessels  alongside,  into  which  streams  of  grain 
are  poured,  while  multitudes  of  cars  move  in  and  out, 
under  and  around  them,  bringing  the  supply  from  the 
farm  to  the  storage-bins.  In  the  business  section,  as 
elsewhere,  the  streets  are  wide,  thus  accommodating 
the  throngs  who  fill  them,  and  there  are  fine  city  and 
national  buildings,  a  new  Post-office  of  large  size  and 
imposing  architecture  being  in  course  of  construction. 
The  Chicago  Public  Library,  completed  in  1897,  is 
a  grand  structure,  costing  $2,000,000,  and  having 
about  three  hundred  thousand  volumes.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  in  the  southern  suburbs,  is  des- 
tined to  become  one  of  the  leading  institutions  of 
learning  in  America.  It  began  instruction  in  1892, 
and  now  has  some  twenty-four  hundred  students,  and 
endowments  of  $15,000,000,  largely  the  gifts  of 
John  D.  Rockefeller.  The  University  grounds  cover 
twenty-four  acres,  and  when  the  plan  is  completed 
there  will  be  over  forty  buildings.  Its  libraries  con- 
tain three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes.  The 
great  Yerkes  Observatory,  adjunct  to  this  Univer- 
sity, is  at  Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin,  seventy  miles 
distant,  and  has  the  largest  refracting  telescope  in 
the  world,  with  forty-inch  lens  and  a  tube  seventy 
feet  long.     On  the  northern  side  of  the  city  is  the 


436     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Newberry  Library,  with  $3,000,000  endowment  and 
two  hundred  thousand  volumes,  including  admirable 
musical  and  medical  collections,  and  the  Crerar  Li- 
brary, with  $2,000,000  endowment,  principally  for 
scientific  works,  is  being  established  on  the  south 
side.  Chicago's  greatest  industrial  establishment  is 
the  Federal  Steel  Company,  having  enormous  rolling- 
mills  and  foundries  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  and 
also  at  Joliet  on  Desplaines  River.  Its  South  Chi- 
cago Rolling  Mills  occupy  over  three  hundred  acres. 
The  manufacture  of  agricultural  machinery  is  repre- 
sented by  two  enormous  establishments,  the  McCor- 
mick  Harvesting  Machine  Company  on  the  southwest 
side  and  the.Deering  Works  in  the  northwestern  dis- 
trict. 

CHICAGO    BUSINESS   ENERGY. 

As  the  elevators  of  Chicago  represent  its  traffic  in 
grain,  and  contain  usually  a  large  proportion  of  what 
is  known  as  the  u  visible  supply,"  so  do  the  vast 
lumber-yards  along  Chicago  River  often  store  up  an 
enormous  product  of  the  output  from  the  u  Great 
North  Woods,"  covering  much  of  Michigan,  Wiscon- 
sin and  Minnesota,  and  spreading  across  the  Canadian 
border.  The  third  great  branch  of  traffic  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Union  Stock  Yards  in  the  southwestern 
suburbs.  These  yards  in  a  year  will  handle  eight 
millions  of  hogs,  four  millions  of  cattle,  four  millions 
of  sheep  and  a  hundred  thousand  horses,  over  two- 
thirds  of  the  hogs  and  cattle  being  killed  in  the  yards 


CHICAGO  BUSINESS  ENERGY.  437 

and  sent  away  in  the  form  of  meat,  and  the  whole 
annual  traffic  being  valued  at  $250,000,000.  The 
yards  cover  three  hundred  acres,  and  with  the  pack- 
ing-houses employ  twenty-five  thousand  men,  and 
they  have  twenty  miles  of  water-troughs  and  twenty- 
five  miles  of  feeding-troughs,  and  are  served  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  railway-tracks.  The  hog 
is  a  potential  factor  in  American  economy,  being  re- 
garded as  the  most  compact  form  in  which  the  corn 
crop  of  the  country  can  be  transported  to  market. 
The  corn  on  the  farm  is  fed  to  the  hog,  and  the  ani- 
mal is  sent  to  Chicago  as  a  package  provided  by  na- 
ture for  its  economical  utilization.  The  Union  Stock 
Yards  make  a  complete  town,  with  its  own  banks, 
hotels,  Board  of  Trade,  Post-office,  town-hall,  news- 
paper and  special  Fire  Department.  The  extensive 
enclosure  is  entered  by  a  modest,  gray  sandstone  tur- 
reted  gateway,  surmounted  by  a  carved  bulPs  head, 
emblematic  of  its  uses.  The  Horse  Market  is  a  large 
pavilion,  seating  four  thousand  people.  From  this 
vast  emporium,  with  its  enormous  packing-houses, 
are  sent  away  the  meat  supplies  that  go  all  over  the 
world,  the  product  being  carried  out  in  long  trains  of 
canned  goods  and  refrigerator  cars,  the  most  inge- 
nious methods  of  u  cold  storage  "  being  invented  for 
and  used  in  this  widely  extended  industry. 

The  active  traffic  of  the  grain  and  provision  trades 
©f  Chicago  is  conducted  in  the  building  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  a  tall  and  imposing  structure  at  the  head 


438     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

of  La  Salle  Street,  which  makes  a  fitting  close  to  the 
view  along  that  grand  highway.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  elaborate  architectural  ornaments  of  the  city, 
and  its  surmounting  tower  rises  three  hundred  and 
twenty-two  feet  from  the  pavement.  The  fame  of 
this  grand  speculative  arena  is  world-wide,  and  the 
animated  and  at  times  most  exciting  business  done 
within  marks  the  nervous  beating  of  the  pulse  of  this 
metropolis  of  food  products.  The  interior  is  a  mag- 
nificent hall,  lighted  by  high-reaching  windows  and 
surmounted  by  a  central  skylight  elevated  nearly  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  floor.  Impressive  columns 
adorn  the  sides,  and  the  elaborate  frescoes  above  are 
in  keeping  with  its  artistic  decoration.  Upon  the 
spacious  floor,  between  nine  and  one  o'clock,  assemble 
the  wheat  and  corn,  and  pork,  lard,  cattle  and  rail- 
way kings  in  a  typical  scene  of  concentrated  and 
boiling  energy  feeding  the  furnace  in  which  Chicago's 
high-pressure  business  enterprise  glows  and  roars. 
These  speculative  gladiators  have  their  respective 
"  pits  "  or  amphitheatres  upon  the  floor,  so  that  they 
gather  in  huge  groups,  around  which  hundreds  run 
and  jostle,  the  scene  from  the  overlooking  gallery,  as 
the  crowds  sway  and  squirm,  and  with  their  calls  and 
shouting  make  a  deafening  uproar,  being  a  veritable 
Bedlam.  Each  "  pit "  deals  in  a  specific  article,  while 
in  another  space  are  detachments  of  telegraph  oper- 
ators working  with  nimble  fingers  to  send  instant  re- 
ports of  the  doings  x  and  prices  to  the  anxious  outer 


PULLMAN  AND  THE  SLEEPING-CAR         439 

world.  High  up  on  the  side  of  the  grand  hall,  in  full 
view  of  all,  are  hung  large  dials,  whose  moving  hands 
keep  momentary  record  of  the  changes  in  prices 
made  by  the  noisy  and  excited  throngs  in  the  il  pits," 
thus  giving  notice  of  the  ruling  figures  for  the  next 
month's  f  options  "  on  wheat,  corn  and  "  short-ribs." 
There  are  tables  for  samples,  and  large  blackboards 
bearing  the  figures  of  market  quotations  elsewhere. 
This  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  has  been  the  scene  of 
some  of  the  wildest  speculative  excitements  in  the 
country,  as  its  shouting  and  almost  frenzied  groups  of 
traders  in  the  "  pits  P  may  make  or  break  a  "  corner," 
and  here  in  fitful  fever  concentrates  the  business 
energy  of  the  great  Metropolis  of  the  Lakes. 

PULLMAN  AND  THE   SLEEPING-CAR. 

Another  Chicago  specialty  of  wide  fame  is  the 
railway  sleeping-car,  brought  to  its  present  high 
stage  of  development  by  one  of  the  most  prominent 
Chicagoans,  the  late  George  M.  Pullman.  The 
earliest  American  sleeping-car  was  devised  by  The- 
odore T.  Woodruff,  who  constructed  a  small  working 
model  in  1854  at  Watertown,  New  York,  and  subse- 
quently building  his  car,  first  ran  it  on  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  in  October,  1856,  charging 
fifty  cents  for  a  berth.  George  M.  Pullman  was 
originally  a  cabinet-maker  in  New  York  State,  and 
moved  when  a  young  man  to  Chicago.  His  first 
feme  in  that  city,  as  already  stated,  came  from  the 


440     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ingenious  methods  he  devised,  when  the  grade  of  the 
town  was  elevated  to  secure  better  drainage,  for  rais- 
ing the  buildings  by  putting  hundreds  of  jackscrews 
under  them,  trade  continuing  uninterrupted  during 
the  process.  Pullman,  subsequently  to  that  time, 
travelled  occasionally  between  Chicago  and  Buffalo, 
and  one  night  got  into  Woodruff's  car.  He  was 
stretched  out  upon  the  vibrating  couch  for  some  two 
hours,  but  could  not  sleep,  and  his  eyes  being  widely 
open,  and  the  sight  wandering  all  about  the  car,  he 
struck  upon  a  new  idea.  When  he  left  the  car  he 
had  determined  to  develop  from  his  brief  experience 
a  plan  destined  to  expand  into  a  complete  home  upon 
wheels  for  the  traveller,  either  awake  or  sleeping. 
In  1859  he  turned  two  ordinary  railway  coaches  into 
sleeping-cars  and  placed  them  upon  night  trains  be- 
tween Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  charging  fifty  cents  per 
berth,  his  first  night's  receipts  being  two  dollars.  He 
ran  these  experimental  coaches  about  five  years  be- 
fore he  felt  able  to  carry  out  his  ideal  plan,  and  he 
then  occupied  fully  a  year  in  constructing  his  model 
sleeping-car,  the  "  Pioneer,"  at  Chicago,  at  a  cost  of 
$18,000.  But  when  completed  the  car  was  so  heavy, 
wide  and  high  that  no  railway  could  undertake  run- 
ning it,  as  it  necessitated  cutting  off  station  platforms 
and  elevating  the  tops  of  bridges  before  it  could  pass 
by.  Thus  he  had  a  white  elephant  on  his  hands  for 
a  time.  In  April,  1865,  President  Lincoln's  assassi- 
nation shocked  the  country,  and  the  funeral,  with  its 


PULLMAN  AND  THE  SLEEPJNG-CAE.  441 

escort  of  mourning  statesmen,  was  progressing  from 
Washington  to  Chicago,  on  the  way  to  the  grave  at 
Springfield.  The  nation  watched  its  progress,  and 
the  railways  transporting  the  corUge  were  doing  their 
best.  The  manager  of  the  road  from  Chicago  to 
Springfield  used  the  *  Pioneer  n  in  the  funeral  train, 
taking  several  days  to  prepare  for  it  by  sending  out 
gangs  of  men  to  cut  off  the  station  platforms  and 
alter  the  bridges.  Pullman's  dream  was  realized; 
his  "  coach  of  the  future,"  with  its  escort  of  statesmen, 
carried  the  dead  President  to  his  grave  and  became 
noted  throughout  the  land.  A  few  weeks  later,  Gen- 
eral Grant,  fresh  from  the  conquest  of  the  Rebellion, 
had  a  triumphal  progress  from  the  camp  to  his  home 
in  Illinois.  Five  days  were  spent  in  clearing  the 
railway  between  Detroit  and  Galena,  where  he  lived, 
and  the  "  Pioneer ,?  carried  Grant  over  that  line. 

These  successes  made  Pullman's  fortune,  and  the 
business  of  his  company  grew  rapidly  afterwards,  it 
being  now  an  enormous  concern  with  $70,000,000 
capital,  controlling  practically  all  the  sleeping-cars  of 
this  country  and  many  abroad.  The  main  works  are 
at  the  Chicago  suburb  of  Pullman,  ten  miles  south 
of  the  centre  of  the  city,  where  there  are  about 
twelve  thousand  population,  most  of  the  people  being 
connected  with  the  works,  which  are  an  extensive 
general  car-building  establishment.  Pullman  was 
built  as  a  model  town,  with  every  improvement  cal- 
culated to  add  to  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  work- 


442     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ing-people,  being  also  provided  with  its  own  library, 
theatre,  and  a  tasteful  arcade,  in  which  are  various 
shops.  It  was  at  Pullman  in  1894  that  the  great 
strike  took  place  which  ultimately  involved  a  large 
portion  of  the  railways  of  the  country,  causing  much 
rioting  and  bloodshed,  and  finally  requiring  the  inter- 
vention of  the  Federal  troops  to  maintain  the  peace. 
After  a  protracted  period  of  turmoil,  the  strike  failed. 

THE   CORN   CROP. 

Chicago  is  the  entrepdt  for  the  great  prairie  region 
spreading  from  the  Alleghenies  westw*ard  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  Here  grows  the  grain  making  the  wealth 
of  the  land,  and  feeding  the  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep 
that  are  poured  so  liberally  into  the  Union  Stock 
Yards  of  the  Lake  City.  Upon  the  crops  of  this  vast 
prairie  land  depends  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 
Wall  Street  in  New  York  and  the  Chicago  Board 
of  Trade  are  the  market  barometers  of  this  prosperity, 
for  the  prairie  farmer,  as  he  may  be  rich  and  able  to 
spend  money,  or  poor  so  that  he  cannot  even  pay  his 
debts,  controls  the  financial  outlook  in  America.  The 
traveller,  as  he  glides  upon  this  universal  prairie  land, 
east,  south  and  west  of  Chicago,  viewing  its  limitless 
fertility  seen  far  away  in  every  direction  over  the 
monotonous  level,  as  if  looking  across  an  ocean, 
cannot  help  recalling  Wordsworth's  pleasant  lines : 

"  The  streams  with  softest  sound  are  flowing, 
The  grass  you  almost  hear  it  growing, 
You  hear  it  now,  if  e'er  you  can." 


THE  COEN  CROP.  443 

Then,  as  the  crops  ripen  and  are  garnered,  and 
the  wealth  of  the  prairie  is  turned  into  food  for  the 
world,  there  comes  with  the  advancing  autumn  the 
ripening  of  the  greatest  crop  of  America,  and  the 
mainstay  of  the  country,  the  Indian  corn.  It  is 
wonderful  to  think  that  the  first  corn  crop  of  the 
United  States  planted  by  white  men  at  Jamestown, 
Virginia,  on  a  field  of  forty  acres  in  1608,  has  grown  to 
an  annual  yield  approximating  twenty-three  hundred 
million  bushels.  This  prolific  crop  is  the  banner 
product  of  the  great  prairie,  and  Whittier  in  his 
"  Corn  Song  "  has  recorded  its  glories  : 

"  Heap  high  the  farmer's  wintry  hoard  I 
Heap  high  the  golden  corn  ! 
No  richer  gift  has  autumn  poured 
From  out  the  lavish  horn  ! 

"  Let  other  lands,  exulting,  glean 
The  apple  from  the  pine, 
The  orange  from  its  glossy  green, 
The  cluster  from  the  vine  ; 

"  We  better  love  the  hardy  gift 
Our  rugged  vales  bestow, 
To  cheer  us  when  the  storm  shall  drift 
Our  harvest  fields  with  snow. 

"  Through  vales  of  grass  and  meads  of  flowers, 
Our  plows  their  furrows  made, 
While  on  the  hills,  the  sun  and  showers 
Of  changeful  April  played. 

"We  dropped  the  seed  o'er  hill  and  plain 
Beneath  the  sun  of  May, 
And  frightened  from  our  sprouting  grain 
The  robber  crows  away. 


444     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

"  All  through  the  long  bright  days  of  June 
Its  leaves  grew  green  and  fair, 
And  waved  in  hot  midsummer's  noon 
Its  soft  and  yellow  hair. 

"And  now,  with  autumn's  moonlit  eves, 
Its  harvest  time  has  come, 
We  pluck  away  the  frosted  leaves, 
And  bear  the  treasure  home. 

M  There,  richer  than  the  fabled  gift 
Apollo  showered  of  old, 
Fair  hands  the  broken  grain  shall  sift, 
And  knead  its  meal  of  gold. 

*'  Let  vapid  idlers  loll  in  silk 
Around  their  costly  board  ; 
Give  us  the  bowl  of  samp  and  milk 
By  homespun  beauty  poured  ! 

51  Where'er  the  wide  old  kitchen  hearth 
Sends  up  its  smoky  curls, 
Who  will  not  thank  the  kindly  earth, 
And  bless  our  farmer  girls  ! 

u  Let  earth  withhold  her  goodly  root, 
Let  mildew  blight  the  rye, 
Give  to  the  worm  the  orchard's  fruit, 
The  wheat  field  to  the  fly  ; 

u  But  let  the  good  old  corn  adorn 
The  hills  our  fathers  trod  ; 
Still  let  us  for  his  golden  corn 
Send  up  our  thanks  to  God  1" 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE  GREAT 
NORTHWEST. 


VII. 

GLIMPSES  OF  THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST. 

The  Great  Lakes — Sieur  de  La  Salle — Lake  St.  Clair — Lake 
Huron — Detroit— Ann  Arbor — Mackinac  Island — Sault  Sainte 
Marie — Lake  Superior — Lake  Nepigon — Thunder  Bay — Port 
Arthur — Kakabika  Falls — The  Pictured  Rocks — Marquette 
— Keweenaw — Iron  and  Copper — Houghton — Lake  Gogebic 
— Superior  City — Duluth — Messabi  and  Vermillion  Ranges — 
Green  Bay — Wisconsin — Milwaukee — Waukesha — Madison — 
Rock  Island — Davenport — Moline  Rapids— Dubuque — Iowa 
— Black  Hawk — Minnesota — La  Crosse— Lake  Pepin — Falls 
of  St.  Anthony — St.  Paul — Minneapolis — Fort  Snelling — 
Flour  and  Lumber — Lake  Minnetonka — Minnehaha  Falls — 
Hiawatha  and  Minnehaha  —  Source  of  the  Mississippi  — 
Itasca  Lake — Minnesota  River — Red  River  of  the  North — 
Ancient  Lake  Agassiz — Sioux  Falls — Fargo — Great  Wheat 
Farms  —  Manitoba — Rat  Portage  —  Keewatin — Winnipeg  — 
Hudson  Bay  Company — Dakota — Bismarck— The  Bad  Lands 
— Yellowstone  River— Montana— Big  Horn  River — Custer 
Massacre  —  Livingston  —  Cinnabar  Mountain  —  Yellowstone 
National  Park  —  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  —  Norris  Geyser 
Basin — Firehole  River — Lower,  Middle  and  Upper  Geyser 
Basins— Yellowstone  Lake  and  Falls— The  Grand  Canyon — 
Two-Ocean  Pond — Westward  the  Course  of  Empire  Takes 
its  Way. 

THE   GREAT   LAKES. 

Bene  Robert  Cavelier,  the  Sieur  de  La  Salle, 

was  the  chief  French  pilgrim  and  adventurer  in  the 

seventeenth  century  who  explored  the  Great  Lakes 

and  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  secured  for  his 

country   the   vast   empire  of  Louisiana,  stretching 

(447) 


448     AMEKICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCKIPTIVE. 

from  Canada  to  the  Gulf.  His  explorations  were 
made  in  1669  and  again  in  1678,  and  like  all  the 
discoverers  of  that  early  time  he  was  hunting  for  the 
water  way  thought  to  lead  to  the  South  Sea  and  pro- 
vide a  route  to  China.  The  historian  Parkman  de- 
scribes La  Salle  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ex- 
plorers whose  names  live  in  history ;  the  hero  of  a 
fixed  idea  and  determined  purpose  ;  an  untiring  pil- 
grim pushing  onward  towards  the  goal  he  was  never 
to  attain  j  the  pioneer  who  guided  America  to  the 
possession  of  her  richest  heritage.  Throughout  the 
northwest  his  memory  is  preserved  in  the  names  of 
rivers,  towns,  and  otherwise,  and  his  maps  and  narra- 
tives gave  the  earliest  geography  of  the  Lakes  and 
the  vast  and  prolific  -  region  obtained  from  France  in 
the  Louisiana  cession. 

The  Great  Lakes  on  the  northern  border  of  the 
United  States  are  the  largest  bodies  of  fresh  water  on 
the  globe.  They  carry  an  enormous  commerce, 
nearly  a  hundred  thousand  men  being  employed  by 
the  fleet  of  lake  vessels,  which  approximates  two 
millions  tonnage.  At  the  head  of  Lake  Erie  the 
waters  of  Detroit  River  pour  in,  draining  the  upper 
lakes,  this  stream,  about  twenty-five  miles  long,  flow- 
ing from  Lake  St.  Clair  and  broadening  from  a  half- 
mile  to  four  miles  width  at  its  mouth.  Lake  St. 
Clair  is  elevated  five  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  but  is 
small,  being  about  twenty-five  miles  in  diameter,  and 
shallow,  only  about  twenty  feet  deep.     The  naviga- 


THE  GEEAT  LAKES.  449 

tion  of  its  shallows  is  intricate,  and  is  aided  by  a  long 
canal  through  the  shoals  at  the  upper  end,  where  the 
St.  Clair  River  discharges,  a  strait  about  forty  miles 
long,  flowing  south  from  Lake  Huron.  This  great 
lake  is  at  five  hundred  and  eighty  feet  elevation,  and 
in  places  seventeen  hundred  feet  deep,  covering 
twenty-four  thousand  square  miles,  and  containing 
many  islands.  At  its  northern  end,  Lakes  Superior 
and  Michigan  join  it  by  variou.2  straits  and  water 
ways  beyond  Mackinac  Island.  Westward  of  Lakes 
Ontario  and  Erie,  and  between  them  and  Lake 
Huron,  a  long  peninsula  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
projects  southward  into  the  United  States,  terminat- 
ing opposite  Detroit.  Similarly,  to  the  westward  of 
Lake  Huron,  and  between  it  and  Lake  Michigan,  the 
State  of  Michigan  has  its  lower  peninsula  projecting 
upward  to  Canada.  The  Canadian  projection,  which 
is  part  of  Ontario  Province,  is  unfortunately  located, 
being  almost  surrounded  by  these  expansive  lakes, 
having  bleak,  cold  winds  sweeping  across  them  and 
seriously  impeding  its  agriculture.  The  surface  has 
little  charm  of  scenery  and  the  population  is  sparse. 
The  trunk  railways,  however,  find  this  an  almost 
direct  route  from  Western  New  York  to  Detroit  and 
Chicago,  and  various  roads  traverse  it,  coming  out 
on  the  Detroit  River  and  the  swift-flowing  St.  Clair 
River,  which  are  crossed  both  by  car-ferry  and  tun- 
nel. At  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron,  St.  Clair  River 
is  less  than  a  thousand  feet  wide  between  Point  Ed- 


450     AMEKICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ward  and  Fort  Gratiot,  and  here  and  at  Ports  Sarnia 
and  Huron  the  low  and  level  shores  are  lined  with 
docks,  elevators  and  other  accessories  of  commerce. 
This  river  brings  vast  amounts  of  sand  down  out  of 
Lake  Huron  with  its  swift  current,  which  are  depos- 
ited on  the  St.  Clair  Flats  beyond  its  mouth,  keeping 
that  lake  shallow,  and  requiring  the  long  ship  canal 
to  maintain  navigation.  Below  Lake  St.  Clair,  the 
wider  Detroit  River  presents  many  fine  bits  of 
scenery,  while  the  city  of  Detroit  spreads  for  several 
miles  along  the  northwestern  bank,  and  has  Windsor 
opposite,  on  the  Canadian  shore.  Pretty  islands  dot 
the  broadening  stream  below  Detroit,  and  the  vary- 
ing width,  with  the  bluffs  on  the  Canadian  side,  and 
the  meadows,  fields  and  forests  of  Michigan,  give 
lovely  views. 

DETROIT   AND   MACKINAC. 

Detroit  means  "  the  strait,"  and  the  original  In- 
dian names  for  the  river  mean  "the  place  of  the 
turned  channel."  The  early  visitors  who  reached  it 
by  boat  at  night  or  in  dark  weather,  and  were  inat- 
tentive to  the  involved  currents,  always  remarked,  as 
the  Indians  did  before  them,  that  owing  to  these  ex- 
traordinary involutions  of  the  waters,  when  the  sun 
appeared  again  it  always  seemed  to  rise  in  the  wrong 
place.  The  French  under  La  Salle  were  the  first 
Europeans  who  passed  through  the  river,  and  in  1701 
the  Sieur  de  la  Mothe  Cadillac,  who  received  grants 
from  Louis  XIV.,  came  and  founded  Fort  Pontchar- 


DETROIT  AND  MACKINAC.  451 

train  there,  naming  it  after  the  French  Minister  of 
Marine,  around  which  a  settlement  afterwards  grew, 
to  which  the  French  sent  colonists  at  intervals.  The 
British  got  possession  in  1760,  and  it  successfully  re- 
sisted the  conspiracy  and  attacks  of  the  Ojibway  In- 
dian chief  Pontiac  for  over  a  year,  the  garrison  nar- 
rowly escaping  massacre.  The  United  States,  after 
the  Revolution,  sent  out  General  St.  Clair  as  Gov- 
ernor, and  his  name  was  given  the  lake  to  the  north- 
ward. Detroit  was  a  frontier  post  in  the  War  of 
1812,  being  alternately  held  by  British  and  Ameri- 
cans. In  1824  it  had  about  fifteen  hundred  people 
and  became  a  city.  It  now  has  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  population,  and  its  commercial  import- 
ance may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that  the  whole 
enormous  traffic  of  the  Lakes  passes  in  front  of  the 
city  during  the  seven  months  that  navigation  is  open, 
the  procession  of  craft  often  reaching  sixty  thousand 
vessels  in  the  season.  Detroit  also  has  extensive  and 
varied  manufactures.  It  has  a  gradually  rising  sur- 
face and  broad  and  well-paved  streets  on  a  rectangu- 
lar plan,  with  several  avenues  radiating  from  a  cen- 
tre, like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  The  central  square 
is  the  Campus  Martius,  an  expansion,  about  a  half- 
mile  from  the  river,  of  Woodward  Avenue,  the  chief 
street.  Here  is  an  elaborate  City  Hall,  the  principal 
public  building,  having  in  front  a  magnificent  Soldiers' 
Monument.  The  suburbs  are  attractive,  and  there 
are  various  pleasant  parks  and  rural  cemeteries,  the 
Vol.  i.— 20 


452     AMEBICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

leading  Park  of  Belle  Isle,  covering  seven  hundred 
acres,  being  to  the  northeastward,  with  a  good  view 
over  Lake  St.  Clair.  Fort  Wayne,  the  elaborate  de- 
fensive work  of  Detroit,  is  on  the  river  just  below 
the  city,  and  has  a  small  garrison  of  regular  troops. 
It  is  yet  incomplete,  and  is  designed  to  be  the  most 
extensive  fortification  on  the  northern  frontier,  com- 
manding the  important  passage  between  Lakes  Huron 
and  Erie  and  the  railway  routes  east  and  west. 

The  peninsula  of  Michigan  was  originally  covered 
with  the  finest  forests,  so  that  lumbering  has  always 
been  a  leading  industry  of  the  people.  The  greater 
portion  of  its  pine  woods,  however,  has  been  cut  off, 
so  that  that  branch  is  declining ;  but  its  ample  supply 
of  hard  woods  has  made  the  State  a  great  manufac- 
turer of  furniture,  which  is  shipped  all  over  the 
country.  Thirty-eight  miles  west  of  Detroit,  on  the 
Huron  River,  is  the  city  of  Ann  Arbor,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  fifteen  thousand.  Here  are  the  extensive 
buildings  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  the  leading 
educational  establishment  of  the  northwest,  attended 
by  over  three  thousand  students,  of  whom  a  large 
number  are  young  women.  It  is  richly  endowed,  and 
has  departments  of  law  and  medicine,  as  well  as  of 
literature  and  science,  a  large  library  and  an  observa- 
tory. The  State  makes  a  liberal  annual  contribution 
for  its  support,  raised  by  taxation,  it  being  governed 
by  eight  regents  elected  by  the  people.  At  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Michigan  Peninsula  is  the 


j        ec 


o,o  •'      .    I 


LAKE  SUPEKIOR.  453 

Strait  of  Mackinac,  through  which  Lake  Michigan 
discharges  into  Lake  Huron.  This  water  way  is 
about  four  miles  wide.  In  the  strait  is  Mackinac 
Island,  about  nine  miles  in  circumference,  which  was 
early  held  by  the  French  on  account  of  its  strategic 
importance,  but,  being  taken  by  the  English  in  1760, 
was  captured  by  Pontiac  when  he  organized  the  In- 
dian revolt  against  the  British  in  1763,  and  all  its 
h^abitants  massacred.  It  is  now  a  military  post  and 
reservation  of  the  United  States.  This  rocky  and 
wooded  island  contains  much  picturesque  scenery, 
and  is  a  favorite  summer  resort,  its  weird  legends, 
fresh  breezes,  good  fishing  and  clear  waters  being 
the  attraction.  It  was  an  early  post  of  the  north- 
western fu  ^-traders,  and  here  was  founded  one  of  the 
fron'der  trr  ding-stations  of  the  Astor  Fur  Company 
in  the  early  nineteenth  century  by  John  Jacob  Astor 
of  New  York,  the  building  in  the  little  village  being 
still  known  as  the  Astor  House. 

LAKE   SUPERIOR. 

To  the  northward  of  Mackinac,  Lake  Superior  dis- 
charges into  Lake  Huron  through  the  Sault  Sainte 
Marie  Strait,  the  "  Leap  of  St.  Mary."  This  strait 
of  St.  Mary  is  a  winding  and  most  beautiful  stream, 
sixty-two  miles  long,  being  a  succession  of  expan- 
sions into  lakes  and  contractions  into  rivers,  dotted 
with  pretty  islands  and  having  some  villages  on  the 
banks.    The  chief  attraction  is  the  Sault,  or  "  Leap," 


454     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

which  is  a  rapid  of  about  eighteen  feet  descent, 
the  navigation  being  maintained  through  capacious 
modern  systems  of  locks  and  ship  canals  provided  by 
both  the  United  States  and  Canada.  To  the  west- 
ward is  the  great  Lake  Superior,  the  largest  fresh- 
water lake  on  the  globe,  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  long  and  covering  thirty -two  thousand  square 
miles,  with  a  coast-line  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  It  is  elevated  about  six  hundred  feet  above 
the  ocean  level,  and  has  a  depth  averaging  one  thou- 
sand feet.  Nearly  two  hundred  rivers  and  creeks 
flow  into  it,  draining  a  region  of  a  hundred  thousand 
square  miles.  There  are  a  few  islands  in  the  eastern 
and  western  portions,  but  all  the  centre  of  the  lake  is 
a  vast  unbroken  sheet  of  water,  and  generally  of  a 
low  temperature,  the  deeper  waters  being  only  39° 
in  summer.  The  early  French  missionaries,  who 
were  the  first  explorers,  told  their  interesting  story 
of  Lake  Superior  in  Paris  in  1636,  and  in  their  pub- 
lished account  speak  of  its  coasts  as  resembling  a 
bended  bow,  of  which  the  north  shore  makes  the 
arc  of  the  bow,  the  south  shore  the  chord,  and  the 
great  Keweenaw  Point,  projecting  far  from  the 
southern  shore,  represents  the  arrow.  Superior  has 
generally  a  rock-bound  coast,  displaying  impressive 
beauties  of  scenery,  particularly  on  the  northern 
shore,  where  the  beetling  crags  and  cliffs  are  pro- 
jected boldly  into  the  lake  along  the  water's  edge. 
This  northern  coast  is  also  much  indented  by  deep 


LAKE  SUPERIOR.  455 

bays,  bordered  by  precipitous  cliffs,  back  of  which 
rise  the  dark  and  dreary  Laurentian  Mountains. 
There  are  also  rocky  islands  scattered  near  this  por- 
tion of  the  coast,  some  presenting  vast  castellated 
walls  of  basalt  and  others  peaks  of  granite,  elevated 
a  thousand  to  thirteen  hundred  feet  above  the  lake. 
Nowhere  upon  the  inland  waters  of  North  America 
is  there  grander  scenery. 

The  most  considerable  affluent  of  Lake  Superior 
upon  its  northern  coast  is  the  Nepigon  River,  coming 
grandly  down  cascades  and  rapids,  bringing  the 
waters  of  Lake  Nepigon,  an  elliptical  lake  among 
the  mountains  to  the  northward  covering  about  four 
thousand  square  miles,  bounded  by  high  cliffs,  and 
elevated  over  eight  hundred  feet.  It  is  studded  with 
islands,  has  very  deep  waters,  and  receives  various 
streams  from  the  remote  northern  wilderness.  Upon 
the  northwestern  shore  of  Lake  Superior  are  gigantic 
cliffs,  surrounding  Thunder  Bay,  a  deep  indentation 
divided  from  Black  Bay  by  the  great  projecting 
promontory  of  Thunder  Cape,  rising  nearly  fourteen 
hundred  feet  in  grand  columns  of  basalt,  the  summit 
containing  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano.  Across 
from  it  is  McKay  Mountain,  another  basaltic  Gib- 
raltar, rising  twelve  hundred  feet  from  the  almost 
level  plain  bordering  the  bay.  Pic  Island  is  between 
them,  guarding  the  entrance.  The  pretty  Kamin- 
istiquia  River  flows  through  rich  prairie  lands  down 
to  Thunder  Bay,  and  here  is  the  chief  Canadian  town 


456     AMERICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

on  the  lake,  Port  Arthur.  Thirty  miles  up  this  river 
is  the  famous  Kakabika  Falls,  where  the  rocks  are 
cleft  so  that  the  stream  tumbles  into  a  chasm  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  deep,  and  then  boils  along  with 
rapid  current  for  nearly  a  half-mile  through  the  fis- 
sure, the  sides  towering  perpendicularly,  and  in  some 
places  even  overhanging  their  bases.  Upon  this 
river  was  for  many  years  the  well-known  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  fur-trading  station  of  Fort  William, 
which  now  has  grain  elevators,  and  is  a  suburb  of  the 
spreading  settlement  of  Port  Arthur.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  great  portage  from  Lake  Superior 
over  to  the  Hudson  Bay  waters  at  Fort  Garry,  on 
the  Red  River  in  Manitoba,  now  Winnipeg,  the 
portage  being  the  present  route  of  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific Railway. 

SAULT   SAINTE   MARIE   TO   DULUTH. 

The  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior  is  mostly 
composed  of  lowlands,  covered  with  sand,  glacial  de- 
posits and  clays,  which  came  from  the  lake  during  a 
former  stage  of  much  higher  water,  when  it  extended 
many  miles  south  of  the  present  boundary.  These 
lands,  while  not  well  adapted  to  agriculture,  contain 
rich  deposits  of  copper,  iron  and  other  metals  and 
valuable  red  sandstones.  Around  the  rapids  and 
canals  at  the  outlet  has  gradually  grown  the  town  of 
Sault  Sainte  Marie,  familiarly  known  as  the  "  Soo," 
having  ten  thousand  people,  and  developing  import- 


SAULT  SAINTE  MAEIE  TO  DULUTH.         457 

ant  manufactures  from  the  admirable  water-power  of 
the  rapids,  which  is  also  utilized  for  electrical  purposes. 
An  international  bridge  brings  a  branch  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  over  from  Canada,  on  its  way  to 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  with  connections  southward 
to  Chicago,  and  there  is  also  the  military  post  of  Fort 
Brady.  Stately  processions  of  vessels  constantly 
move  through  the  canals,  being  locked  up  or  down 
when  the  navigation  season  is  open,  and  making  this 
a  very  animated  place,  over  fifteen  thousand  ships 
passing  in  the  seven  months  when  the  canals  are  free 
from  ice.  The  tonnage  is  the  greatest  using  any  sys- 
tem of  canals  in  the  world,  far  exceeding  Suez,  and 
the  recent  improvements  enable  vessels  of  twenty- 
one  feet  draft  to  go  through  the  new  locks.  Both 
Governments  have  expended  millions  upon  these  im- 
portant public  works,  which  are  chiefly  employed  for 
the  transport  of  grain,  flour,  coal,  iron-ores  and  cop- 
per. The  favorite  sports  at  the  u  Soo  "  are  catching 
white  fish  and  "  shooting  the  rapids n  in  canoes 
guided  by  the  Indians,  who  are  very  skillful. 

About  one  hundred  miles  westward  from  the  a  Soo," 
on  the  southern  lake  shore,  there  rise  cliffs  of  the  red 
and  other  sandstones  formed  by  the  edges  of  nearly 
horizontal  strata  coming  out  at  the  border  of  the  lake. 
These  are  the  noted  Pictured  Rocks,  rising  three 
hundred  feet,  extending  for  a  distance  of  about  five 
miles,  and  worn  by  frost  and  storm  into  fantastic  and 
romantic   forms,   displaying  vivid   hues — red,  blue, 


458     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

yellow,  green,  brown  and  gray — as  they  have  been 
stained  by  the  oozing  waters  carrying  the  pigments. 
At  intervals,  cascades  fall  over  the  rocks.  One  cliff, 
called  the  Sail  Rock,  is  like  a  sloop  in  full  sail,  and 
there  are  various  castles  and  chapels,  and  an  elaborate 
Grand  Portal.  In  the  country  around  is  laid  much 
of  the  scene  of  Hiawatha,  and  at  the  little  lake  port 
of  Munising,  nearby,  was  the  site  of  the  wigwam  of 
the  old  woman,  Nokomis, 

"On  the  shores  of  Gitchee  Gumee, 
Of  the  shining  Big-Sea-Water." 

To  the  westward  is  the  region  of  iron-ores,  and 
here  is  Marquette,  named  for  the  great  Jesuit  mis- 
sionary Father  Marquette,  who  was  the  first  founder 
of  mission  settlements  in  this  region,  and  died  in 
1675  near  the  mouth  of  Marquette  Eiver.  This 
town  of  fifteen  thousand  people  is  on  Iron  Bay,  and 
is  the  chief  port  of  the  Marquette,  Menominee  and 
Ishpeming  mines.  Farther  to  the  westward  the  great 
Keweenaw  Peninsula  projects,  the  name  meaning  in 
the  Indian  dialect  the  a  canoe  portage."  At  its  base, 
the  Portage  Lake  almost  separates  it  from  the  main- 
land, and  a  short  portage  to  the  westward  formerly 
carried  the  canoes  over  the  narrow  isthmus.  A  canal 
now  enables  the  lake  shipping  to  pass  through  with- 
out making  the  long  detour  around  the  outer  end  of 
the  peninsula.  Upon  this  rocky  peninsula  are  the 
great     copper-mines    of    Michigan,    including    the 


SAULT  SAINTE  MARIE  TO  DULUTH.         459 

Quincy,  Tamarack,  Osceola,  Franklin,  Atlantic,  and 
the  Calumet  and  Hecla.  The  latter  is  the  world's 
leading  Copper  Company,  making  over  $4,000,000 
estimated  annual  profit,  employing  five  thousand 
men,  and  having  the  deepest  shaft  in  existence,  the 
Red  Jacket,  which  has  been  sunk  forty-nine  hundred 
feet.  Houghton,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Portage 
Lake,  is  the  leading  town  of  the  copper  district.  To 
the  southwestward  and  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Upper  Michigan  Peninsula  is  Lake  Gogebic,  elevated 
thirteen  hundred  feet,  in  another  prolific  iron-ore  dis- 
trict, the  Gogebic  range,  which  produces  Bessemer 
ores,  and  has  its  shipping  port  across  the  Wisconsin 
boundary  at  Ashland,  another  busy  town  of  fifteen 
thousand  people  at  the  head  of  Chequamegon  Bay. 
Out  in  front  are  the  Apostle  Islands,  a  picturesque 
group,  and  to  the  westward  the  head  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior gradually  narrows  in  the  Fond  du  Lac,  or  end 
of  the  lake,  where  are  situated  its  leading  ports, 
Superior  City  in  Wisconsin  and  Duluth  in  Minne- 
sota. 

Here  in  the  seventeenth  century  came  the  early 
French,  and  in  1680  a  trading-post  was  established 
by  Daniel  du  Lhut,  afterwards  becoming  a  Hudson 
Bay  Company  Station.  The  mouth  of  St.  Louis 
Eiver  and  its  bay  were  naturally  recognized  as  im- 
portant points  for  trade,  and  when  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway  was  projected  Superior  City  got  its 
start.     The  first  railroad  scheme  failed,  the  panic  of 


460     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

1857  came,  and  the  railway  project  was  abandoned 
until  after  the  Civil  War ;  and  then,  when  it  was  re- 
newed, the  terminus  was  located  over  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  the  place  being  named  Duluth,  after 
the  French  trader.  While  there  has  been  great 
rivalry  between  them,  and  Duluth  has  outstripped 
Superior,  yet  the  latter  has  an  extensive  trade  and 
thirty  thousand  people.  Duluth,  the  u  Zenith  City 
of  the  Unsalted  Seas,"  as  it  has  been  ambitiously 
called,  was  originally  projected  on  Minnesota  Point, 
a  scythe-shaped  natural  breakwater  running  out 
seven  miles  into  the  lake,  which  protects  the  harbor, 
but  the  town  was  subsequently  built  farther  in.  There 
were  about  seventy  white  people  in  the  neighbor- 
hood in  1860,  and  in  1869  its  present  site  was  a 
forest,  while  the  railroad,  which  had  many  set-backs, 
had  only  brought  about  three  thousand  people  there 
in  1885.  The  completion  of  other  railway  connec- 
tions in  various  directions,  the  discovery  of  iron  de- 
posits, and  the  recognition  of  its  advantageous  posi- 
tion for  traffic,  subsequently  gave  Duluth  rapid 
growth,  so  that  it  now  has  eighty  thousand  people, 
and  is  the  greatest  port  on  the  lake.  It  is  finely 
situated,  the  harbor  being  spacious  and  lined  with 
docks  and  warehouses,  and  it  has  many  substantial 
buildings.  Back  of  the  "city  a  terrace  rises  some  four 
hundred  feet,  an  old  shore  line  of  Lake  Superior 
when  the  water  was  at  much  higher  level,  and  here 
is  the  Boulevard  Drive,  giving  splendid  views  over 


THE  CITY  OF  MILWAUKEE.  461 

the  town  and  lake.  The  vast  extent  of  wheat  lands 
to  the  westward  and  the  prolific  iron-ore  district  to 
the  northward  give  Duluth  an  enormous  trade.  Its 
railways  lead  up  to  the  Messabi  and  Vermillion  ranges, 
now  the  greatest  producers  of  Lake  Superior  iron- 
ores,  the  red  hematite,  most  of  the  output  being  con- 
trolled by  John  D.  Rockefeller  and  his  associates. 
These  mines  yield  the  richest  ores  in  the  world,  and 
have  made  some  of  the  greatest  fortunes  in  Duluth. 
Yet  they  were  not  discovered  until  1891,  and  then 
the  lands  where  they  are  generally  went  begging, 
because  nobody  would  give  the  government  price  for 
them,  $1.25  per  acre.  One  forty-acre  tract,  then 
abandoned  by  the  man  who  took  it  up  because  he  did 
not  think  the  pine  wood  on  it  was  enough  to  warrant 
paying  $50  for  it,  is  now  the  Mountain  Iron  Mine, 
netting  Mr.  Rockefeller  $375,000  annual  profit,  and 
his  railroad  bringing  the  ores  out  gets  more  than  that 
sum  for  freights. 

THE   CITY   OF   MILWAUKEE. 

The  early  French  traders  and  explorers  who  came 
to  the  upper  lakes  naturally  ascended  their  affluents, 
and  in  this  way  La  Salle,  Joliet,  Hennepin  and  others 
crossed  the  portages  beyond  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
tributaries  of  the  Mississippi.  They  came  to  Green 
Bay  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  ascended 
the  Fox  River  and  crossed  over  to  the  Wisconsin 
River.     Southward  from  the  Upper  Michigan  Penin- 


462     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

sula  and  westward  of  the  lower  peninsula  of  that 
State  spreads  the  broad  expanse  of  Lake  Michigan, 
stretching  from  Mackinac  and  Green  Bay  down  to 
Chicago.  Its  western  shore  is  the  State  of  Wiscon- 
sin, extending  northward  to  Lake  Superior.  When 
the  French  explorers  came  along  and  floated  down  its 
chief  river,  an  affluent  of  the  Mississippi,  the  latter 
making  the  western  boundary  of  the  State,  they 
found  the  Indian  name  of  the  stream  to  be  a  word 
which,  according  to  the  pronunciation,  they  spelled 
in  their  early  narratives  "  Ouisconsing  "  and  "  Mis- 
consin,"  and  it  finally  came  out  in  the  present  form 
of  Wisconsin,  thus  naming  the  State.  The  original 
meaning  was  the  "  wild,  rushing  red  water,"  from  the 
hue  given  by  the  pine  and  tamarack  forests.  La 
Salle  coasted  in  his  canoe  all  along  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan,  from  Green  Bay  down  to  Chicago, 
and  crossed  over  to  the  Mississippi.  The  traders 
established  various  settlements  on  that  shore  which 
have  grown  into  active  cities,  and  the  principal  one, 
eighty-five  miles  north  of  Chicago,  is  Milwaukee,  its 
name  derived  from  the  Indian  Mannawahkie,  mean- 
ing the  "good  land."  A  broad  harbor,  indented 
several  miles  from  the  lake,  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
city,  at  the  mouth  of  Milwaukee  River,  which  re- 
ceives two  tributaries  within  the  town,  and  thus  adds 
to  the  facilities  for  dockage,  while  extensive  break- 
waters protect  the  harbor  entrance  from  lake  storms. 
Milwaukee  has  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 


THE  CITY  OF  MILWAUKEE.  463 

people,  and  is  the  growth  mainly  of  the  latter  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  finely  located,  with  un- 
dulating surface,  the  streets  lined  with  trees,  and  the 
splendid  development  of  the  residential  section  mak- 
ing it  almost  like  an  extensive  park,  the  foliage  and 
garden  spaces  are  so  extensive  and  attractive.  Its 
population  is  largely  German,  and  its  breweries  are 
famous,  exporting  their  product  all  over  the  country. 
It  has  a  grand  Federal  building,  costing  nearly 
$2,000,000,  a  Eomanesque  structure  in  granite,  an 
elaborate  CouEt-house  of  brown  sandstone,  a  spacious 
City  Hall,  a  magnificent  Public  Library  and  Museum, 
and  many  attractive  churches  and  other  edifices. 
Juneau  Park,  on  a  bluff  overlooking  the  lake,  com- 
memorates the  first  settler,  Solomon  Juneau,  and  con- 
tains his  statue.  Here,  in  compliment  to  the  large 
Scandinavian  population  of  Wisconsin,  is  also  a  statue 
of  Leif  Ericsen,  who  is  said  to  have  been  in  com- 
mand of  the  first  detachment  of  Norsemen  who 
landed  in  New  England  in  the  eleventh  century. 
The  Forest  Home  Cemetery  at  the  southwestern 
verge  of  the  city  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
country.  Milwaukee  is  familiarly  called  the  4i  Cream 
City  "  from  the  light-colored  brick  made  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  so  largely  enter  into  the  construction 
of  its  buildings.  It  has  extensive  grain  elevators  and 
flour  mills  and  large  manufacturing  industries.  To 
the  westward,  in  a  park  of  four  hundred  acres,  is  the 
National   Soldiers'   Home,  with   accommodation  for 


464     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

twenty-four  hundred.  Its  Sheridan  Drive  along  the 
lake  shore  southward  is  gradually  extending,  the  in- 
tention being  to  connect  with  the  Sheridan  Boulevard 
constructed  northward  from  Chicago.  The  lion  of 
the  city,  however,  is  the  great  Pabst  Brewery,  cover- 
ing thirty-four  acres  and  producing  eight  hundred 
thousand  barrels  of  beer  a  year.  Twenty  miles  in- 
land to  the  westward  is  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Mil- 
waukeans,  the  noted  Bethesda  Spring  of  Waukesha, 
whose  waters  they  find  it  beneficial  to  take  copiously, 
large  quantities  being  also  exported  throughout 
America  and  Europe  for  their  efficacy  in  diabetes 
and  Bright's  disease. 

The  capital  of  Wisconsin  is  the  city  of  Madison, 
seventy-five  miles  west  of  Milwaukee,  built  on  the 
isthmus  between  Lakes  Mendota  and  Monona,  thus 
giving  it  an  admirable  position.  It  has  about  twenty 
thousand  people,  and  the  lake  attractions  make  it  a 
popular  summer  resort.  The  State  Capitol  is  a 
handsome  building  in  a  spacious  park,  one  of  the 
wings  being  occupied  by  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Society,  with  a  library  of  two  hundred  thousand  vol- 
umes, an  art  gallery  and  museum.  The  great  struc- 
ture of  Madison  is  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  the 
buildings  in  a  commanding  position  on  University 
Hill  overlooking  the  charming  Lake  Mendota.  There 
are  seventeen  hundred  students,  and  its  Washburn 
Observatory,  one  of  the  best  in  America,  has  wide 
fame. 


ASCENDING  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  465 


ASCENDING  THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

Westward  from  Lake  Michigan  all  the  railroads 
are  laid  across  the  prairie  land  en  route  to  various 
cities  on  the  Mississippi  River,  several  of  them  having 
St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  for  their  objective  points, 
although  some  go  by  quite  roundabout  ways.  The 
great  "Father  of  Waters "  comes  from  Northern 
Minnesota,  flows  over  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  at 
Minneapolis,  and  is  a  river  of  much  scenic  attractive- 
ness down  to  Dubuque  and  Rock  Island,  its  width 
being  usually  about  three  thousand  ieet,  excepting  at 
the  bends,  which  are  wider,  the  picturesque  bluffs 
enclosing  the  valley  sometimes  rising  six  hundred 
feet  high.  The  railways  leading  to  it  traverse  the 
monotonous  level  of  prairie  in  Illinois  and  Wisconsin, 
excepting  where  a  stream  may  make  a  gorge,  and 
the  face  of  the  country  is  everywhere  almost  the 
same.  The  Moline  Rapids  in  the  Mississippi  above 
Rock  Island  afford  good  water-power,  and  here  the 
Government,  owning  the  island,  has  established  a 
large  arsenal,  which  is  the  base  for  all  the  western 
army  supplies.  The  admirable  location  has  made 
cities  on  either  bank,  Rock  Island  in  Illinois  and 
Davenport  in  Iowa,  both  being  commercial  and 
manufacturing  centres,  and  the  latter  city  having 
the  larger  population.  The  Mississippi  flows  through 
a  rather  wide  valley,  with  pleasant  shores,  having 
villas  dotted  on  their  slopes.     The  Moline  Rapids, 


466     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

which  are  said  to  have  a  water-power  rivalling  the 
aggregate  of  all  the  cataracts  in  New  England,  de- 
scend twenty-two  feet  in  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles. 
Above  them,  the  river  flows  between  Illinois  and 
Iowa,  and  various  flourishing  towns  are  passed,  the 
largest  being  Dubuque,  with  fifty  thousand  people, 
the  chief  industrial  city  of  Iowa,  and  a  centre  of  the 
lead  and  zinc  manufacture  of  the  Galena  district. 
This  was  the  first  settlement  made  by  white  men  in 
Iowa,  the  city  being  named  for  Julien  Dubuque,  a 
French  trader,  who  came  in  1788  with  a  small 
party  to  work  the  lead-mines.  Iowa  is  known  as 
the  "  Hawkeye  State,"  and  its  name  is  of  Dakotan 
Indian  derivation,  meaning  "  drowsy,"  which,  how- 
ever, is  hardly  the  proper  basis  for  naming  such  a 
wide-awake  Commonwealth.  Opposite  Dubuque  is 
the  northern  boundary  of  Illinois,  and  above,  the 
Mississippi  separates  Iowa  from  Wisconsin. 

The  Mississippi  bordering  bluffs  now  rise  much 
higher  and  become  more  picturesque,  Eagle  Point, 
near  Dubuque,  being  elevated  three  hundred  feet. 
Prairie  du  Chien,  just  above  the  mouth  of  Wisconsin 
River,  was  one  of  the  earliest  French  military  posts. 
This  region  was  the  scene  of  the  "  Black  Hawk 
War,"  that  chief  of  the  Sacs  battling  to  get  back 
certain  lands  which  in  1832  had  been  ceded  by  the 
Sac  and  Fox  Indians  to  the  United  States.  He  was 
finally  defeated  back  of  the  western  river  shore,  the 
boundary  between  Iowa  and  Minnesota  being  nearby. 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY.  467 

Minnesota  is  the  "  North  Star  State,"  and  its  Indian 
name,  taken  from  the  river,  flowing  into  the  Missis- 
sippi above  St.  Paul,  means  the  "cloudy  water." 
The  river  scenery  becomes  more  and  more  pictur- 
esque as  the  Mississippi  is  ascended,  the  bluffs  rising 
to  higher  elevations.  La  Crosse  is  a  great  lumber 
manufacturing  town,  drawing  its  timber  from  both 
Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  Above,  where  islands 
dot  the  channel,  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  sec- 
tion of  the  river.  Trempealeau  Island,  five  hundred 
feet  high,  commands  a  magnificent  view,  and  the 
Black  River  flows  in  through  a  splendid  gorge. 
Winona  is  a  prominent  grain-shipping  town,  and  at 
Wabasha  the  river  expands  into  the  beautiful  Lake 
Pepin,  thirty  miles  long  and  from  three  to  five  miles 
wide,  with  attractive  shores  and  many  popular  re- 
sorts. Over  the  lake  rise  the  bold  round  headland 
of  Point  No  Point  on  one  side  and  the  Maiden  Rock 
on  the  other.  St.  Croix  River  flows  in  above  on  the 
eastern  bank,  making  an  enlargement  known  as  St. 
Croix  Lake,  and  the  upper  Mississippi  is  now  wholly 
within  Minnesota,  having  here  at  the  head  of  navi- 
gation the  famous  "Twin  Cities"  of  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis. 

THE  FALLS  OF  ST.   ANTHONY. 

Father  Hennepin  was  the  first  white  man  who 
penetrated  the  wilds  of  Minnesota,  and  in  1680  he 
discovered  the  great  falls  of  the  Mississippi  River, 


468      AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  his  patron  saint,  An- 
thony of  Padua.  The  river  just  below  the  falls  nat- 
urally attracted  the  attention  of  the  French  adven- 
turers who  came  to  trade  with  the  Sioux,  Chippewas 
and  Dakotas,  and  the  first  white  man  who  tarried 
and  built  a  house  here  was  a  Canadian  voyageur, 
who  came  in  1838.  In  1841  a  French  priest  estab- 
lished the  Roman  Catholic  mission  of  St.  Paul  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  thus  the  settlement  was 
named.  The  admirable  water-power  of  the  falls, 
which,  with  their  two  miles  of  rapids,  descend  sev- 
enty-eight feet,  afterwards  attracted  the  attention  of 
millers,  lumbermen  and  other  manufacturers,  and 
this  made  the  settlement  of  Minneapolis,  ten  miles 
westward  and  farther  up  the  river,  which  began  in 
1849,  the  name  meaning  the  "  city  of  the  waters." 
St.  Paul  grew  with  rapidity,  being  encouraged  both 
by  steamboat  and  afterwards  by  railway  traffic ;  but 
Minneapolis,  though  started  later,  subsequently  out- 
stripped it.  The  two  places,  rivals  yet  friends,  have 
extended  towards  each  other,  so  as  to  almost  form 
one  large  city,  and  they  now  have  over  four  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants.  These  "Twin  Cities"  are 
running  a  rapid  race  in  prosperity,  each  indepen- 
dently of  the  other.  St.  Paul  is  rather  more  of  a 
trading  city,  while  Minneapolis  is  an  emporium  of 
sawmills  and  the  greatest  flour-mills  in  the  world. 
Both  are  admirably  located  upon  the  bluffs  rising 
above  the  Mississippi.     St.  Paul  is  situated  upon  a 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY.  469 

series  of  ornamental  semicircular  terraces  that  are 
very  attractive,  though  in  some  portions  rather  cir- 
cumscribed. Minneapolis  is  built  on  a  more  exten- 
sive plan  upon  an  esplanade  overlooking  the  falls, 
and  extending  to  an  island  in  midstream,  and  also 
over  upon  the  opposite  northern  side  of  the  river. 
The  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  is  the  most  powerful  water- 
fall in  the  United  States  wholly  applied  to  manufactur- 
ing purposes.  The  entire  current  of  the  Mississippi 
comes  down  the  rapids  and  over  the  falls,  the  latter 
having  a  descent  of  about  fifty  feet.  It  is  protected 
by  a  wall  built  by  the  Government  across  the  river, 
to  prevent  the  wearing  away  of  the  sandstone  forma- 
tion, there  having  been  serious  inroads  made,  while 
the  surface  is  covered  with  an  apron  of  planks  over 
which  the  water  runs,  with  sluiceways  alongside  to 
shoot  logs  down.  However  much  Father  Hennepin 
may  have  admired  the  beauties  of  this  great  cataract, 
there  is  no  longer  anything  picturesque  about  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Logs  jam  the  upper  river, 
where  the  booms  catch  them  for  the  sawmills,  and 
subterranean  channels  conduct  the  water  in  various 
directions  to  the  mills,  and  discharge  their  foaming 
streams  below.  There  is  no  romance  in  the  rumble 
of  flour-rollers  and  the  buzz  of  saws,  but  they  mean 
a  great  deal  of  profitable  business.  The  force  ex- 
erted by  the  falls  at  low  water  is  estimated  at  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  horse-power. 
St.  Paul  is  the  capital  of  Minnesota,  and  the  State 


470     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

is  building  a  magnificent  new  Capitol,  constructed  of 
granite  and  marble,  with  a  lofty  central  dome,  at  a 
cost  exceeding  $2,000,000.  There  is  a  fine  City 
Hall  and  many  imposing  and  substantial  business  edi- 
fices. Its  especial  residence  street,  Summit  Avenue, 
is  upon  a  high  ridge,  parallel  with  and  some  distance 
back  from  the  Mississippi,  the  chief  dwelling,  a  large 
brownstone  mansion,  being  the  home  of  the  leading 
railroad  prince  of  the  Northwest,  President  James  J. 
Hill  of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad.  Here  is  also 
the  new  and  spacious  Roman  Catholic  Seminary  of 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas.  The  old  military  post  of  Fort 
Snelling  is  on  the  river  above  St.  Paul,  near  the 
mouth  of  Minnesota  River.  In  Minneapolis,  the 
great  building  is  the  City  Hall,  completed  in  1896, 
and  having  a  tower  rising  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  giving  a  superb  view.  The  Guaranty  Loan 
Company's  Building  is  one  of  the  finest  office  struc- 
tures in  America,  with  its  roof  arranged  for  a  garden, 
where  concerts  are  given.  Minneapolis  has  a  widely 
extended  residential  section,  with  hundreds  of  attrac- 
tive mansions  in  ornamental  grounds.  Near  the 
river  bank  is  the  University  of  Minnesota,  having 
well-equipped  buildings  and  attended  by  twenty-eight 
hundred  students. 

Minneapolis  is  the  greatest  flour  manufacturing 
city  in  the  world.  Its  mills,  of  which  there  are 
some  twenty-five,  are  located  along  the  river  near 
the  falls,  and  have  a  daily  capacity  of  over  sixty 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY.  471 

thousand  barrels,  turning  out  about  eighteen  millions 
of  barrels  annually,  which  are  sent  all  over  the  globe. 
The  whole  country  west  and  northwest  of  Minneap- 
olis, including  the  Red  River  Valley,  the  Dakotas 
and  Manitoba,  is  practically  a  fertile  wheat  field, 
growing  the  finest  grain  that  is  produced  in  America, 
and  this  makes  the  prosperity  of  the  city.  The 
Pillsbury- Washburn  Flour  Mills  Company  are  the 
leading  millers.  The  great  Pillsbury  A  mill,  which 
turns  out  ten  thousand  seven  hundred  barrels  a  day, 
is  the  world's  champion  flour-mill.  It  is  a  marvel  of 
the  economical  manufacture,  the  railway  cars  coming 
in  laden  with  wheat,  being  quickly  emptied,  and  then 
filled  with  loaded  flour-barrels  and  sacks  for  shipment. 
Machinery  does  practically  everything  from  the 
shovelling  of  wheat  out  of  the  car  to  the  packing  of 
the  barrel  or  sack  with  the  product.  This  huge  mill 
stands  in  relation  to  the  flour  trade  as  Niagara  does 
to  waterfalls.  The  other  great  Minneapolis  industry 
is  the  lumber  trade.  Minnesota  is  well  timbered, 
a  belt  of  fine  forests,  chiefly  pine,  stretching  across 
it,  known  as  the  Coteau  des  Bois,  or  "  Big  Woods," 
an  elevated  plateau  with  a  rolling  surface,  having 
thousands  of  lakes  scattered  through  it,  fed  by 
springs,  while  their  outlets  go  into  streams  feeding 
the  Mississippi,  down  which  the  logs  are  floated  to 
the  booms  above  the  falls.  The  extensive  saw- 
mills will  cut  over  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  feet  of  lumber  in  a  year.     Thus  the  flour  and 


472     AMERICA,  PICTDEESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE, 

lumber  have  become  the  chief  articles  of  export  from 
Minneapolis. 

There  are  several  pleasant  lakes  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, which  are  popular  resorts  of  the  people  of  the 
u  Twin  Cities/'  the  largest  and  most  famous  being 
Minnetonka,  the  Indian  name  meaning  the  "Big 
Water."  It  is  a  pretty  lake,  at  nearly  a  thousand 
feet  elevation,  with  low,  winding  and  tree-clad  shores, 
having  little  islets  dotted  over  its  surface,  and  myriads 
of  indented  bays  and  jutting  peninsulas  which  extend 
its  shore  line  to  over  a  hundred  miles,  though  the  ex- 
treme length  of  the  lake  is  barely  seventeen  miles. 
There  are  many  attractive  places  on  the  shores  and 
islands,  and  large  steamers  ply  on  its  bosom.  From 
this  lake  the  discharge  is  through  the  Minnehaha  River, 
and  its  Minnehaha  Falls,  the  "Laughing  Water," 
poetically  praised  by  Longfellow  in  Hiawatha.  The 
beautiful  glen  in  which  this  graceful  cataract  is 
found  has  been  made  a  park.  The  falls  are  about 
fifty  feet  high,  and  a  critical  observer  has  recorded 
that  there  is  u  only  wanting  a  little  more  water  to  be 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  cascades  in  the  country." 
Below  the  Minnehaha  Falls  is  another  on  a  smaller 
scale,  which  the  people  thereabout  have  nicknamed 
the  "  Minnegiggle."     Thus  sings  Longfellow  of  Min~ 

nehaha : 

"Homeward  now  went  Hiawatha; 
Only  once  his  pace  he  slackened, 
Only  once  he  paused  or  halted, 
Paused  to  purchase  heads  of  arrows 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY.  473 

Of  the  ancient  Arrow-maker, 
In  the  land  of  the  Dacotahs, 
Where  the  Falls  of  Minnehaha 
Flash  and  gleam  among  the  oak-trees, 
Laugh  and  leap  into  the  valley. 

"There  the  ancient  Arrow-maker 
Made  his  arrow-heads  of  sandstone, 
Arrow-heads  of  chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads  of  flint  and  jasper, 
Smoothed  and  sharpened  at  the  edges, 
Hard  and  polished,  keen  and  costly. 

"  With  him  dwelt  his  dark-eyed  daughter 
Wayward  as  the  Minnehaha, 
With  her  moods  of  shade  and  sunshine, 
Eyes  that  smiled  and  frowned  alternate, 
Feet  as  rapid  as  the  river, 
Tresses  flowing  like  the  water, 
And  as  musical  a  laughter  ; 
And  he  named  her  from  the  river, 
From  the  water-fall  he  named  her, 
Minnehaha,  Laughing  Water. 

"  Was  it  then  for  heads  of  arrows, 
Arrow-heads  of  chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads  of  flint  and  jasper, 
That  my  Hiawatha  halted 
In  the  land  of  the  Dacotahs  ? 

"  Was  it  not  to  see  the  maiden, 
See  the  face  of  Laughing  Water, 
Peeping  from  behind  the  curtain, 
Hear  the  rustling  of  her  garments, 
From  behind  the  waving  curtain, 
As  one  sees  the  Minnehaha 
Gleaming,  glancing  through  the  branches, 
As  one  hears  the  Laughing  Water, 
From  behind  its  screen  of  branches  ? 

"Who  shall  say  what  thoughts  and  visions 
ITtti  the  fiery  brains  of  young  men  V 


474     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

Who  shall  say  what  dreams  of  beauty 
Filled  the  heart  of  Hiawatha? 
All  he  told  to  old  Nokomis, 
When  he  reached  the  lodge  at  sunset, 
Was  the  meeting  with  his  father, 
Was  his  fight  with  Mudjekeewis ; 
Not  a  word  he  said  of  arrows, 
Not  a  word  of  Laughing  Water." 

THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

It  was  in  Minnesota,  in  1862,  that  the  terrible  In- 
dian uprising  occurred  in  which  the  Sioux,  exasper- 
ated by  the  encroachments  of  the  whites,  attacked 
the  western  frontier  settlements  in  August,  and  in 
less  than  two  days  massacred  eight  hundred  people. 
The  troops  were  sent  as  soon  as  possible,  attacked 
and  defeated  them  in  two  battles,  and  thirty-eight  of 
the  Indians  were  executed  on  one  scaffold  at  Man- 
kato,  on  the  Minnesota  River  southwest  of  Minne- 
apolis, in  December.  The  State  of  Minnesota  is 
said  to  contain  fully  ten  thousand  lakes  of  all  sizes, 
the  largest  being  Red  Lake  in  the  northern  wilder- 
ness, having  an  area  of  three  hundred  and  forty 
square  miles.  The  surface  of  the  State  rises  into 
what  is  known  as  the  Itascan  plateau  in  the  northern 
central  part  at  generally  about  seventeen  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  elevation.  From  this  plateau  four 
rivers  flow  out  in  various  directions — the  one  on  the 
Western  Minnesota  boundary,  the  Red  River  of  the 
North,  draining  the  western  slope  towards  Lake 
Winnipeg  and  finally  to  Hudson  Bay  j  the  Rainy 


THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  475 

River,  draining  the  northern  slope  also  through 
Lake  Winnipeg  to  Hudson  Bay ;  the  St.  Louis 
River,  flowing  eastward  to  form  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  going  thence  to  the  Atlantic  5  and  the 
Mississippi  River,  flowing  southward  to  seek  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Schoolcraft,  the  Indian  ethnologist 
and  explorer,  named  this  Itascan  plateau,  and  the 
Kttle  lake  in  its  heart,  where  the  Mississippi  takes  it* 
rise,  about  two  hundred  miles  north-northwest  of 
Minneapolis,  though  the  roundabout  course  of  the 
river  from  its  source  to  that  city  is  a  much  longer 
distance,  flowing  nearly  a  thousand  miles.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  discussion  as  to  whether  this  lake 
was  really  the  head  of  the  great  river,  as  the  lake 
received  several  small  streams,  but  Schoolcraft  set- 
tled the  dispute,  and  named  the  lake  Itasca,  from  a 
contraction  of  the  Latin  words  Veritas  caput,  the 
"  true  head."  Its  elevation  is  about  sixteen  hundred 
feet,  being  surrounded  by  pine-clad  hills  rising  a 
hundred  feet  higher.  Out  of  Itasca  Lake  the 
u  Father  of  Waters  n  flows  with  a  breadth  of  about 
twelve  feet,  and  a  depth  ordinarily  of  less  than  two 
feet.  It  goes  at  first  northerly,  and  then  makes  a 
grand  curve  through  a  long  chain  of  lakes,  describing 
a  large  semicircle  to  the  eastward,  and  finally  south- 
west, before  it  becomes  settled  as  to  direction,  and 
takes  its  southeast  course  towards  the  Falls  of  St, 
Anthony,  and  onward  in  its  grand  progress  to  the 
Gulf. 

Vol.  1—21 


476     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


THE   ANCIENT  LAKE   AGASSIZ. 

The  Minnesota  River,  rising  on  the  western  bound- 
ary of  the  State,  flows  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  a 
deeply  carved  valley  through  the  "  Big  Woods  "  to 
the  Mississippi.  Its  source  is  in  the  Big  Stone  Lake, 
which,  with  Lake  Traverse  to  the  northward,  forms 
part  of  the  Dakota  boundary.  The  Red  River  of 
the  North,  rising  in  Lake  Traverse  and  gathering 
together  the  streams  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
Itascan  plateau,  flows  northward  between  Minnesota 
and  North  Dakota,  and  into  Manitoba,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  to  Lake  Winnipeg.  This  river  has 
cut  its  channel  in  a  nearly  level  plain,  and  it  is 
curious  that  in  times  of  freshet  its  waters  connect, 
through  Lakes  Traverse  and  the  Big  Stone,  with  the 
Minnesota,  so  that  steamboats  of  light  draught  can 
then  occasionally  pass  from  the  Mississippi  waters 
north  to  Lake  Winnipeg.  It  was  this  rich  and  level 
plain  of  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  that  in  the  gla- 
cial epoch  formed  the  bed  of  a  vast  lake  which  sci- 
entists have  named  Lake  Agassiz.  Its  area,  as  in- 
dicated by  well-marked  shore-lines  and  deltas,  was  a 
hundred  miles  wide  and  over  four  hundred  miles 
long,  stretching  far  into  Manitoba,  and  the  waters 
were  two  to  four  hundred  feet  deep.  It  was  held  up 
on  the  north  by  the  retreating  ice-sheet  of  the  great 
glacier,  the  outlet  being  southward,  where  a  channel 
fifty  feet  deep,  fifty  miles  long  and  over  a  mile  wide 


THE  ANCIENT  LAKE  AGASSIZ.  477 

can  now  be  distinctly  traced  leading  its  outflow  into 
the  Minnesota  River,  whose  valley  its  floods  then 
greatly  enlarged  on  the  way  to  the  Mississippi.  The 
plain  of  this  lake  bed  is  almost  level,  descending  to- 
wards the  northward  about  a  foot  to  the  mile,  and 
here  the  ancient  lake  deposited  the  thick,  rich,  black 
soils  which  have  made  the  greatest  wheat-growing 
region  of  North  America. 

The  first  settlement  of  Dakota  was  on  the  Big 
Sioux  River  at  Sioux  Falls,  where  flour-mills  and 
other  manufacturing  establishments  have  gathered 
around  a  fine  water-power,  and  there  are  nearly  fifty 
thousand  people  in  the  two  towns  of  Sioux  Falls  in 
South  Dakota  and  Sioux  City  in  Iowa.  The  whole 
region  to  the  northward  and  far  over  the  Canadian 
boundary  is  a  land  of  wheat-fields,  with  grain  ele- 
vators dotting  the  flat  prairie  at  the  railway  stations, 
for  all  the  roads  have  lines  to  tap  the  lucrative  trade 
of  this  prolific  region.  The  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
way crosses  Red  River  at  Fargo,  which,  with  the 
town  of  Moorhead,  both  being  wheat  and  flour  cen- 
tres, has  a  population  of  fifteen  thousand.  To  the 
westward  are  the  vast  "  Bonanza "  wheat  farms  of 
Dakota,  of  which  the  best  known  is  the  Dalrymple 
farm,  covering  forty-five  thousand  acres. ,  Steam- 
ploughs  make  continuous  furrows  for  many  miles  in 
the  cultivation,  and  in  the  spring  the  seeding  is  done. 
The  whole  country  is  covered  with  a  vast  expanse 
of  waving,  yellow  grain  in  the  summer,  and  the  har» 


478     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

vest  comes  in  August.  To  the  westward  flows 
James  River  through  a  similar  district,  and  the  coun- 
try beyond  rises  into  the  higher  plateau  stretching 
to  the  Missouri.  This  fertile  wheat-growing  region 
extends  far  northward  over  the  Canadian  border 
forming  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  the  name  coming 
from  Lake  Manitoba,  which  in  the  Cree  Indian  dia- 
lect means  the  "  home  of  Manitou,  the  Great  Spirit." 
Its  enormous  wheat  product  makes  the  business  of 
the  flouring-mills  of  Minneapolis,  Duluth  and  many 
other  cities,  and  furnishes  a  vast  stream  of  grain  to 
go  through  the  Soo  Canal  down  the  lakes  and  St. 
Lawrence,  much  being  exported  to  Europe. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which  provides  the 
traffic  outlet  for  Manitoba,  comes  froji  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Superior  at  Port  Arthur  northwest- 
ward up  the  valley  of  the  Kaministiquia  River,  and 
its  tributary  the  Wabigoon,  the  Indian  "  Stream  of 
the  Lilies."  This  was  the  ancient  portage,  and  by 
this  trail  and  Winnipeg  River,  the  canoe  route  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  voyageurs,  Lord  Wolseley.  led 
the  British  army  in  1870  to  Fort  Garry  (Winnipeg) 
that  suppressed  Louis  RiePs  French-Indian  half- 
breed  rebellion,  which  had  possession  of  the  post. 
The  railway  route  is  through  an  extensive  forest,  and 
leads  near  the  northern  shore  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  crossing  its  outlet  stream  at  Rat  Portage,  so 
named  from  the  numerous  colonies  of  muskrats,  a 
town  of  sawmills  standing  at  the  rocky  rim  of  the 


THE  ANCIENT  LAKE  AGA8SIZ.  479 

lake,  where  its  waters  break  through  and  down  rapids 
of  twenty  feet  fall  to  seek  Winnipeg  River,  the  Ouni- 
pigon  or  "  muddy  water  *  of  the  Crees.  Here,  and  at 
Keewatin  beyond,  are  grand  water-powers,  the  latter 
having  mammoth  mills  that  grind  the  Manitoba  wheat 
and  send  the  flour  to  England.  Then,  emerging  from 
the  forests,  the  railway  crosses  the  rich  black  soils  of 
the  Red  River  Valley,  and  beyond  that  river  enters 
Winnipeg,  the  "  Prairie  City n  and  commercial  me- 
tropolis "  of  the  Canadian  Northwest.  For  nearly 
eight  hundred  miles  this  alluvial  region  spreads  west 
and  northwest  of  Winnipeg,  with  varying  degrees  of 
fertility,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Here,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Assiniboine  River,  coming  from  the 
remote  northwest,  with  Red  River,  has  grown  a  Cana- 
dian Chicago  of  fifty  thousand  people,  developed 
almost  as  if  by  magic,  from  the  little  settlement  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  souls,  whom  Wolseley  found 
in  1870,  around  what  was  then  regarded  as  the  dis- 
tant Hudson  Bay  Company  frontier  post  of  Fort 
Garry.  Its  original  name  when  first  established  was 
Fort  Gibraltar.  The  two  rivers  wander  crookedly 
over  the  flat  land,  and  between  them  the  city  covers 
an  extensive  surface.  A  half-dozen  railways  radiate 
in  various  directions,  and  there  are  spacious  car- 
yards  and  stations.  Winnipeg  has  an  energetic 
population,  largely  Scotch  and  Americans,  but  with 
picturesque  touches  given  by  the  copper-colored  In- 
dians and  French  half-breeds,  who  wander  about  in 


480     AMEEICA,  PICTUKESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

their  native  costumes,  though  most  of  these  have 
gone  away  from  Red  River  Valley  to  the  far  North- 
west. The  city  has  good  streets,  many  fine  build- 
ings and  attractive  stores.  The  Manitoba  Govern- 
ment Buildings  adjoin  the  Assiniboine  River,  and  the 
military  barracks  of  Fort  Osborne  are  alongside. 
Near  the  junction  of  the  rivers  is  the  little  stone  gate- 
way left  standing,  which  is  almost  all  that  remains 
of  the  original  trading-post  buildings  of  Fort  Garry, 
representing  the  venerable  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
chartered  by  King  Charles  II.  in  1670,  that  con- 
trolled the  whole  vast  empire  of  the  Canadian  North- 
west. This  Company  was  a  grant  by  the  king 
originally  to  Prince  Rupert  and  a  few  associates  of  a 
monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  over  a  vast  territory  in 
North  America,  extending  from  Lake  Superior  to 
Hudson  Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  this  way 
that  portion  of  British  America  came  to  be  popularly 
known  in  England  as  "  Prince  Rupert's  Land."  The 
great  Company  existed  for  nearly  two  hundred  years, 
had  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  trading-posts,  and  em- 
ployed three  thousand  traders,  agents  and  voyageurs, 
and  many  thousands  of  Indians.  In  the  bartering 
with  the  red  men,  the  unit  of  account  was  the  beaver 
skin,  which  was  the  equivalent  of  two  martens  or 
twenty  muskrats,  while  the  pelt  of  a  silver  fox  was 
five  times  as  valuable  as  a  beaver.  In  1869,  when 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  was  formed,  England  bought 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Company  for  $1,500,000  and 


DAKOTA  AND  MONTANA.  481 

transferred  its  territory  to  Canada.  The  Company 
still  retains  its  posts  and  stores,  however,  and  con- 
ducts throughout  the  Northwest  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness. Far  to  the  westward  of  Winnipeg  spread  the 
fertile  prairies  of  Manitoba  and  Assiniboia  Provinces, 
until  they  gradually  blend  into  the  rounded  and  grass- 
covered  foothills  making  the  grazing  ranges  of 
Alberta  that  finally  rise  into  the  snow-capped  peaks 
of  the  Rockies. 

DAKOTA   AND   MONTANA. 

Three  railways  are  constructed  westward  from  Red 
River  to  the  Rockies  and  Pacific  Ocean, — the  Northern 
Pacific  and  Great  Northern  in  the  United  States  and 
the  Canadian  Pacific  beyond  the  international  bound- 
ary. The  former  cross  the  plateau  to  the  Upper 
Missouri  River,  and  there  the  Northern  Pacific  route 
reaches  Bismarck,  the  capital  of  North  Dakota, 
having  a  fine  Capitol  set  on  a  hill,  the  corner-stone 
of  which  was  laid  in  1883,  with  the  noted  Sioux 
chief  Sitting  Bull  assisting.  This  region  not  so  long 
ago  knew  only  soldiers  and  Indians ;  but  there  has 
since  been  a  great  influx  of  white  settlers,  enforc- 
ing  the   idea   of  which    Whittier   has  significantly 

written : 

"  Behind  the  squaw's  birch-bark  canoe, 
The  steamer  smokes  and  raves  ; 
And  city  lots  are  staked  for  sale 
Above  old  Indian  graves.' ' 

The   frontier   army   post   of  Fort   Lincoln   on   the 


482     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

bluff  alongside  the  river  testifies  to  the  time  not  yet 
remote  when  the  Sioux  and  Crow  Indians  of  the  Da- 
kotas  needed  a  good  deal  of  military  control.  The 
deer,  buffalo  and  antelope  then  roamed  these  bound- 
less prairies,  but  they  have  all  disappeared.  Beyond 
the  Missouri  River  is  the  region  of  the  Dakota 
a  Bad  Lands."  The  surface  rises  into  sharp  conical 
elevations  known  as  u  buttes,"  and  soon  this  curious 
district  of  pyramidal  hills  known  as  Pyramid  Park  is 
entered,  fire  and  water  having  had  a  remarkable 
effect  upon  them.  Their  red  sides  are  furrowed  by 
the  rains,  and  smoke  issues  from  some  of  the  crevices. 
The  lignite  and  coal  deposits  underlying  this  country 
have  produced  subterranean  fires  that  burnt  the  clays 
above  until  they  became  brittle  and  red.  There  are 
ashes  and  scoriae  in  patches,  and  cinders  looking 
much  like  the  outcast  of  an  iron  furnace.  The 
buttes  are  at  times  isolated  and  sometimes  in  rows, 
many  being  of  large  size.  Their  sides  are  often 
terraced  regularly,  and  frequently  into  fantastic 
shapes,  occasionally  appearing  as  the  sloping  ram- 
parts of  a  fort.  There  are  frequent  pot-like  holes 
among  them,  filled  with  reddish,  brackish  water,  and 
sometimes  excavated  in  the  ground  with  regularly 
square-cut  edges.  When  the  railway  route  cuts  into 
a  butte,  its  interior  is  disclosed  as  a  pile  of  red-burnt 
clay  fragments  mixed  with  ashes  and  sand.  Little 
prairie  dogs  dodge  in  and  out  of  their  holes,  but  there 
is  not  much  else  of  life.     The  boundary  is  crossed 


DAKOTA  AND  MONTANA.  483 

into  Montana,  and  the  "  Bad  Lands  "  gradually  give 
place  to  a  grazing  section.  Here  stands  up  the 
great  Sentinel  Butte,  with  its  reddish-yellow  sides, 
near  the  Montana  border,  and  the  railway  route  then 
descends  from  the  higher  region  to  the  valley  of  the 
Yellowstone. 

The  Yellowstone  River,  one  of  the  headwaters  of 
the  Missouri,  rises  in  the  National  Park,  and  its  fer- 
tile valley  is  among  the  leading  pasturages  of  Mon- 
tana. Cattle  and  sheep  abound,  and  the  cowboys 
are  universal,  galloping  about  on  energetic  little 
bronchos,  with  lariats  hanging  from  the  saddle.  The 
Big  Horn  River  flows  in,  and  an  extensive  region  to 
the  southward  is  the  Crow  Indian  reservation,  about 
three  thousand  living  there.  It  was  here,  near  Fort 
Custer,  at  a  point  forty -five  miles  south  of  the  rail- 
road, that  the  terrible  massacre  took  place  in  June, 
1876,  by  which  General  Custer  and  his  command  of 
over  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  annihilated  by 
the  Sioux.  There  is  now  a  national  cemetery  at  the 
place.  We  gradually  enter  the  mountain  ranges 
which  are  the  outposts  of  the  Rockies,  and  passing 
between  the  Yellowstone  range  and  the  Belt  Moun- 
tains, reach  Livingston,  a  town  of  several  thousand 
people,  and  a  great  centre  for  hunting  and  fishing,  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  From 
here  a  branch  railway  turns  southward,  ascending  the 
valley  of  the  Yellowstone,  going  through  its  first 
canyon,  known  as  the  "  Gate  of  the  Mountain,''  an 


484     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

impressive  rocky  gorge,  and  ascending  a  steep  grade, 
so  that  the  floor  of  the  valley  rises  within  the  Park  to 
an  elevation  of  over  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
A  second  canyon  is  passed,  and  on  its  western  side  is 
a  huge  peak  whose  upheaved  red  rocks  have  named 
it  the  Cinnabar  Mountain.  These  red  rocks  are  in 
strata  streaked  down  its  sides  with  intervening 
granite  and  limestone.  One  of  these,  the  Devil's 
Slide,  is  conspicuous,  its  quartzite  walls  rising  high 
above  the  lower  strata  and  making  a  veritable  slide 
of  great  proportions  down  the  mountain.  The  rail- 
road ends  at  Cinnabar,  and  stages  cover  the  remain- 
ing distance  up  the  Yellowstone  to  its  confluence  with 
Gardiner  River  at  the  Park  entrance,  and  thence  to 
the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  within  the  Park,  the 
tourist  headquarters. 

THE   AMERICAN  WONDERLAND. 

The  Yellowstone  National  Park  has  been  set  apart 
by  Congress  as  a  public  reservation  and  pleasure- 
ground,  and  covers  a  surface  of  about  fifty-five  hun- 
dred square  miles  within  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Most 
of  the  Park  is  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Wyo- 
ming, but  there  are  also  small  portions  in  Montana  to 
the  north  and  Idaho  to  the  west.  It  is  a  tract  more 
remarkable  for  natural  curiosities  than  an  equal  area 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  within  it  are  the 
sources  of  some  of  the  greatest  rivers  of  North 
America.     The  Yellowstone,  Gardiner  and  Madison 


THE  AMERICAN  WONDERLAND.  485 

Rivers,  which  are  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri, 
flow  out  of  the  northern  and  western  sides,  while  on 
the  southern  side  originates  the  Snake  River,  one  of 
the  sources  of  the  Columbia  River  of  Oregon,  and 
also  the  Green  River,  a  branch  of  the  Colorado,  flow- 
ing into  the  Gulf  of  California.  The  central  portion 
of  the  Park  is  a  broad  volcanic  plateau,  elevated,  on 
an  average,  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
surrounded  by  mountain  ridges  and  peaks,  rising  to 
nearly  twelve  thousand  feet,  and  covered  with  snow. 
The  air  is  pure  and  bracing,  little  rain  falls,  and  the 
whole  district  gives  evidence  of  remarkable  volcanic 
activity  at  a  comparatively  late  geological  epoch.  It 
contains  the  most  elevated  lake  in  the  world,  Yellow- 
stone Lake.  The  Yellowstone  River  flows  into  this 
lake,  and  then  northward  through  a  magnificent  can- 
yon out  of  the  Park.  Its  most  remarkable  tributary 
within  the  Park  is  Tower  Creek,  flowing  through  a 
narrow  and  gloomy  pass  for  two  miles,  called  th© 
Devil's  Den,  and  just  before  reaching  the  Yellow- 
stone having  a  fall  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet, 
which  is  surrounded  by  columns  of  breccia  resembling 
towers.  There  is  frost  in  the  Park  every  month  in 
the  year,  owing  to  the  peculiar  atmospheric  conditions. 
The  traces  of  recent  volcanic  activity  are  seen  in  the 
geysers,  craters  and  terrace  constructions,  boiling 
springs,  deep  canyons,  petrified  trees,  obsidian  cliffs, 
sulphur  deposits  and  similar  formations.  These  gey- 
sers and  springs  surpass  in  number  and  magnitude 


486     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

those  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  There  are  some  five 
thousand  hot  springs,  depositing  mainly  lime  and 
silica,  and  over  a  hundred  large  geysers,  many  of 
them  throwing  water  columns  to  heights  of  from  fifty 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  most  elaborate 
colors  and  ornamentation  are  formed  by  the  deposits 
of  the  springs  and  geysers,  these  curiosities  being 
mainly  in  and  near  the  valleys  of  the  Madison  and 
Gardiner  Rivers.  An  attempt  has  been  made  under 
Government  auspices  to  have  in  the  Park  a  huge 
game  preserve,  and  within  its  recesses  large  numbers 
of  wild  animals  are  sheltered,  including  deer,  elk, 
bears,  big-horn  sheep,  and  the  last  herd  of  buffalo  in 
the  country.  Troops  of  cavalry  and  other  Govern- 
ment forces  patrol  and  govern  the  Park. 

THE   MAMMOTH   HOT   SPRINGS. 

This  extraordinary  region  was  first  made  known  in 
a  way  in  1807.  A  hunter  named  Coulter  visited  it, 
and  getting  safely  back  to  civilization,  he  told  such 
wonderful  stories  of  the  hot  springs  and  geysers 
that  the  unbelieving  borderers,  in  derision,  called  it 
"Coulter's  Hell."  Others  visited  it  subsequently, 
but  their  remarkable  tales  were  generally  regarded 
as  romances.  The  first  thorough  exploration  was 
made  by  Prof.  Hayden's  scientific  party  for  the  Gov- 
ernment in  1871,  and  his  report  led  Congress  to  re- 
serve it  as  a  public  Park.  The  visitor  generally  first 
enters  the  Park  at  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  which 


THE  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPBINGS.  487 

are  near  the  northern  verge  of  the  broad  central  pla- 
teau. Here  are  the  wonderful  terraces  built  up  by 
the  earlier  calcareous  deposits  of  these  Springs,  cov- 
ering an  area  of  several  square  miles,  and  in  the 
present  active  operations  about  two  hundred  acres, 
with  a  dozen  or  more  terraces,  and  some  seventy 
flowing  springs,  the  temperature  of  the  water  rising 
to  165°.  The  lower  terrace  extends  to  the  edge  of 
the  gorge  of  Gardiner  River,  with  high  mountain 
peaks  beyond.  The  hotel  is  built  on  one  of  the  ter- 
races, with  yawning  caves  and  the  craters  of  extinct 
geysers  at  several  places  in  front.  The  higher  ter- 
races rise  in  white,  streaked  with  brown  and  other 
tints,  as  the  overflowing,  trickling  waters  may  have 
colored  them.  The  best  idea  that  can  be  got  of  this 
place  is  by  conjuring  up  the  popular  impression  of 
the  infernal  regions  with  an  ample  stock  of  heat  and 
brimstone.  For  a  long  distance,  rising  from  the  top 
of  the  gorge  of  Gardiner  River  westward  in  succes- 
sive terraces  to  a  height  of  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
stream,  the  entire  surface  is  underlaid  with  sulphur, 
subterranean  fires,  boiling  water  and  steam,  which 
make  their  way  out  in  many  places.  The  earth  has 
been  cracked  by  the  heat  into  fissures,  within  which 
the  waters  can  be  heard  boiling  and  running  down 
below,  and  everything  on  the  surface  which  can  be, 
is  burnt  up.  Almost  every  crevice  exudes  steam  and 
hot  water ;  sulphur  hangs  in  stalactites  from  the 
caves  j  and  in  some  places  the  odors  are  nearly  over- 


488     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

powering.  It  is  no  wonder  the  Indians  avoided  this 
forbidding  region,  and  that  the  tales  told  by  the  early 
explorers  were  disbelieved.  Yet  it  is  as  attractive  as 
it  is  startling.  The  hot  springs  form  shallow  pools, 
where  the  waters  run  daintily  over  their  rim-like 
edges,  trickling  down  upon  terrace  after  terrace, 
forming  the  most  beautiful  shapes  of  columns,  towers 
and  coral  decorations  from  the  lime  deposits,  and 
painting  them  with  delicious  coloring  in  red,  brown, 
green,  yellow,  blue  and  pink.  So  long  as  the  waters 
run,  this  decoration  continues,  but  when  the  flow 
ceases,  the  atmosphere  turns  everything  white,  and 
the  more  delicate  formations  crumble.  The  whole  of 
this  massive  structure  has  been  built  up  by  ages  of 
the  steady  though  minute  deposits  of  the  waters,  the 
rate  being  estimated  at  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch  in  four  days.  The  rocks  upon  which  these  cal- 
careous deposits  are  made  belong  to  the  middle  and 
lower  Cretaceous  and  Jurassic  formations,  with  prob- 
ably carboniferous  limestones  beneath  that  put  the 
deposits  in  the  waters.  A  dozen  different  terraces 
can  be  traced  successively  upward  from  the  river 
bank  to  the  highest  part  of  the  formation.  Two  cones 
of  extinct  geysers  rise  from  the  deposits,  near  the 
hotel, — the  Liberty  Cap,  forty-five  feet  high,  and  the 
Giant's  Thumb,  somewhat  smaller, — both  having  been 
built  up  by  the  deposits  from  orifices  still  seen  in 
their  tops,  whence  the  waters  have  ceased  flowing. 
All  these  springs,  as  deposits  are  made,  shift  their 


THE  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS.  489 

locality,  so  that  the  scene  gradually  changes  as  the 
ages  pass. 

In  climbing  about  this  remarkable  formation,  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  bits  of  construction  and  color- 
ing nature  has  ever  produced  are  disclosed.  The 
Orange  Geyser  has  its  sides  streaked  with  orange, 
yellow  and  red  from  the  little  wavelets  slowly  trick- 
ling out  of  the  steaming  spring  at  the  top,  which  goes 
off  at  quick  intervals  like  the  exhaust  of  a  steam- 
engine.  At  the  Stalactite  Cave  the  flowing  waters 
add  green  to  the  other  colors,  and  also  scale  the  rocks 
in  places  like  the  back  of  a  fish,  while  below  hang 
stalactites  with  water  dropping  from  them.  The  roof 
of  the  cave  is  full  of  beautiful  formations.  The 
water  is  very  hot  when  it  starts  from  the  top,  but 
becomes  quite  cold  when  it  has  finished  its  journey 
down.  One  of  the  'finest  formations  is  Cleopatra's 
Bath,  with  Cupid's  Cave  beneath,  the  way  to  them 
being  through  Antony's  Gate,  all  built  up  of  the  de- 
posits. Here  rich  coloring  is  painted  on  the  rocks, 
with  hot  water  and  steam  amply  supplied  to  the  bath, 
which  has  154°  temperature  at  the  outer  verge.  All 
the  springs  form  flat  basins  with  turned-up  edges, 
over  which  the  waters  flow,  and  trickling  down  the 
front  of  the  terrace,  paint  it.  When  the  flow  ceases, 
and  the  surface  has  been  made  snowy  white  by  the 
atmosphere,  it  becomes  a  spongy  and  beautiful  coral, 
crumbling  when  touched,  and  into  which  the  foot 
sinks  when  walked  upon.     The  aggregation  of  the 


490     AMEEICA,  PICTUEESQUE  AND  DESCEIPTIVE. 

currents  run  in  streams  over  terrace  after  terrace, 
spread  out  to  the  width  of  hundreds  of  feet,  painting 
them  all,  and  then  seeking  the  Gardiner  River,  flow- 
ing through  a  deep  gorge  in  front  of  the  formation. 
Everything  subjected  to  the  overflow  of  these  cur- 
rents gets  coated  by  the  deposits,  so  that  visitors 
have  many  small  articles  coated  to  carry  away  as 
curiosities. 

Among  the  many  beautiful  formations  made  by 
these  Hot  Springs,  the  most  elaborate  and  orna- 
mental are  the  Pulpit  Terraces.  These  are  a  suc- 
cession of  magnificent  terraces,  fifty  feet  high,  with 
beautifully  colored  columnar  supports.  There  is  a 
large  pulpit,  and  in  front,  on  a  lower  level,  the  font, 
with  the  water  running  over  its  edges.  The  pulpit, 
having  been  formed  by  a  spring  that  has  ceased  ac- 
tion, is  white,  while  the  font  is  streaked  in  red  and 
brown.  Finely  carved  vases  filled  with  water  stand 
below,  and  alongside  the  pulpit  there  is  an  inclined 
surface,  whitened  and  spread  in  wrinkles  like  the 
drifted  snow,  which  requires  very  little  imagination 
to  picture  as  a  magnificent  curtain.  Beyond  is  a 
blackened  border  like  a  second  curtain,  the  coloring 
being  made  by  a  spring  impregnated  with  arsenic. 
In  front  of  this  gorgeous  display  the  surface  is  hot 
and  cracked  into  fissures,  with  bubbling  streams  of 
steaming  water  running  through  it,  and  great  pools 
fuming  into  new  basins  with  turned-up  edges,  over 
which  the  hot  water  runs.     Upon  one  of  these  pools 


THE  NORMS  GEYSER  BASIN.  491 

seems  to  be  a  deposit  of  transparent  gelatine,  look- 
ing like  the  albumen  of  an  egg9  streaked  into  fan- 
tastic shapes  by  elongated  bubbles.  Everywhere  are 
surfaces,  over  which  the  water  runs,  that  are  covered 
with  regular  formations  like  fish  scales.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  adequately  describe  this  extraordinary  place, 
combining  the  supposed  peculiarities  and  terrors  of 
the  infernal  regions  with  the  most  beautiful  forms 
and  colors  in  decoration.  The  great  hill  made  by 
these  Hot  Springs  was,  from  its  prevailing  color, 
named  the  White  Mountain  by  Hayden.  The 
springs  extend  all  the  way  down  to  the  river  bank, 
and  there  are  some  even  in  the  river  bed.  It  is  a 
common  experiment  of  the  angler  to  hook  a  small 
fish  in  the  cold  water  of  the  river,  and  then,  without 
changing  position,  to  swing  him  on  the  hook  over 
into  the  basin  of  one  of  these  hot  springs  to  cook 
him.  The  formation  of  the  terraces  is  wedge-shaped, 
and  runs  up  into  a  gulch  between  the  higher  moun- 
tains, which  have  pines  scattered  over  them,  and  also 
grow  some  grass  in  sheltered  nooks.  It  is  said  that 
the  volume  of  the  springs  is  gradually  diminishing. 

THE  NORMS   GEYSER  BASIN. 

The  route  southward  into  the  Park  crosses  moun- 
tain ridges  and  over  stretches  of  lava  and  ashes  and 
other  volcanic  formations,  -through  woods  and  past 
gorges,  and  reaches  the  Obsidian  Creek,  which  flows 
near  the  Obsidian  Cliff.     This  remarkable  structure 


492     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

is  a  mountain  of  black  glass  of  volcanic  formation, 
rising  six  hundred  feet,  with  the  road  hewn  along  its 
edge.  It  looks  as  if  a  series  of  blasting  explosions 
had  blown  its  face  into  pieces,  smashing  the  glass 
into  great  heaps  of  debris  that  have  fallen  down  in 
front.  The  formation  is  columnar,  rising  from  a 
morass  adjoining  Beaver  Lake,  which  is  a  mile  long. 
The  divide  is  thus  crossed  between  the  Gardiner  and 
Gibbon  Rivers,  the  latter  flowing  into  the  Madison, 
and  here,  twenty-five  miles  from  the  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs,  is  the  Norris  Geyser  Basin.  In  approach- 
ing, seen  over  the  low  trees,  the  place  looks  much 
like  the  manufacturing  quarter  of  a  city,  steam  jets 
rising  out  of  many  orifices,  and  a  hissing  being  heard 
as  of  sundry  engine  exhausts.  The  basin  covers 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  is  depressed 
below  the  general  level.  The  whole  surface  is  lime, 
silica,  sulphur  and  sand,  fused  together  and  baked 
hard  by  the  great  heat,  cracked  into  fissures,  and,  as 
it  is  walked  over,  giving  out  hollow  sounds,  showing 
that  beneath  are  subterranean  caves  and  passages  in 
which  boil  huge  cauldrons.  There  is  a  background 
formed  by  the  bleak-looking  mountains  of  the  Quad- 
rate range,  having  snow  upon  their  tops  and  sides. 
The  steam  blows  off  with  the  noise  of  a  hundred  ex- 
haust pipes,  and  little  geysers  boil  everywhere,  occa- 
sionally spurting  up  like  the  bursting  of  a  boiler.  In 
one  place  on  the  hillside  the  escaping  steam  from  the 
u  Steamboat w  keeps  up  a  loud  and  steady  roar ;  in 


THE  NOEEIS  GEYSER  BASIN.  493 

another  is  the  deeper  tone  of  the  u  Black  Growler." 
As  a  general  thing,  the  higher  vents  on  the  hill  give 
off  steam  only,  while  the  lower  ones  are  geysers. 
The  trees  are  coated  with  the  deposits,  the  surface  is 
hot,  and  all  underneath  seems  an  immense  mass  of 
boiling  water,  impregnated  with  sulphur,  giving  off 
powerful  odors,  while  brimstone  and  lime-dust  en- 
crust everything,  and  a  large  amount  of  valuable 
steam-power  goes  to  waste. 

This  is  the  smallest  of  the  basins,  having  few 
large  geysers.  Most  of  them  are  little  ones,  spurt- 
ing every  few  minutes,  and  with  some  view  to 
economy,  whereby  the  water,  after  being  blown  out 
of  the  crater  to  a  brief  height,  runs  back  into  the 
orifice  again,  ready  to  be  ejected  by  the  next  explo- 
sion. A  mud  geyser  here  throws  up  large  quantities 
of  dirty  white  paint  in  several  spouting  jets,  the 
eruption  continuing  ten  minutes,  when  nearly  all  the 
water  runs  back  again,  leaving  the  crater  entirely 
bare,  and  its  rounded,  water-worn  rocks  exposed. 
The  "Emerald  Pool"  is  the  wide  crater  of  an  old 
geyser,  filled  with  hot  water  of  a  beautiful  green 
color,  constantly  boiling,  but  never  getting  as  far  as 
an  eruption.  Probably  the  best  geyser  on  exhibition 
in  this  basin  is  the  "  Minute  Man,"  which,  at  inter- 
vals of  about  one  minute,  spouts  for  ten  or  twelve 
seconds,  the  column  rising  thirty  feet,  and  the  rest  of 
the  time  it  blows  off  steam.  The  "Vixen"  is  a 
coquette  which  is  delightfully  irregular,  never  going 


494     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

off  when  watched,  but  when  the  back  is  turned  sud- 
denly sending  out  a  column  sixty  feet  high.  The 
great  geyser  here  is  the  u  Monarch,"  standing  in  a 
hill  from  which  it  has  blown  out  the  entire  side,  and 
once  a  day  discharging  an  enormous  amount  of  water 
over  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  continuing  nearly  a 
half-hour.  Its  column  comes  from  two  huge  orifices, 
the  surplus  water  running  down  quite  a  large  brook. 
When  quiet,  this  geyser  industriously  boils  like  a  big 
tea-kettle.  There  are  plenty  of  "paint  pots"  and 
sulphur  springs,  and  the  visitors  coax  up  lazy  gey- 
sers by  throwing  stones  into  them, — a  method 
usually  making  the  small  ones  go  to  work,  as  if 
angry  at  the  treatment. 

THE   LOWER  AND   MIDDLE   BASINS. 

Through  the  long  deep  canyon  of  the  Gibbon 
River,  and  up  over  the  mountain  top,  giving  a  dis- 
tant view  of  the  Gibbon  Falls,  a  cataract  of  eighty 
feet  far  down  in  the  valley,  the  road  crosses  another 
divide  to  a  stream  in  the  worst  portion  of  this  Sa- 
tanic domain,  which  has  not  been  inappropriately 
named  the  Firehole  River.  This  unites  with  the 
Gibbon  to  form  the  Madison  River,  one  of  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri.  Miles  ahead,  the  steam 
from  the  Firehole  Geyser  Basins  can  be  seen  rising 
in  clouds  among  the  distant  hills.  Beyond,  the  view 
is  closed  by  the  Teton  Mountains,  far  to  the  south- 
west, rising  fourteen  thousand  feet,  the  Continental 


THE  LOWER  AND  MIDDLE  BASINS.  495 

divide  and  backbone  of  North  America,  the  highest 
Rocky  Mountain  range,  on  the  other  side  of  which  is 
the  Snake  River,  whose  waters  go  off  to  the  Pacific. 
The  Firehole  River  is  a  stream  of  ample  current, 
with  beautifully  transparent  blue  water  bubbling  over 
a  bed  of  discolored  stones  and  lava.  Its  waters  are 
all  the  outflow  of  geysers  and  hot  springs,  impreg- 
nated with  everything  this  forbidding  region  pro- 
duces j  pretty  to  look  at,  but  bitter  as  the  waters  of 
Marah.  Along  this  river,  geysers  are  liberally  dis- 
tributed at  intervals  for  ten  miles,  being,  for  conve- 
nience of  description,  divided  into  the  Lower,  Middle 
and  Upper  Geyser  Basins.  The  Lower  Basin,  the 
first  reached,  has  myriads  of  steam  jets  rising  from 
a  surface  of  some  three  square  miles  of  desolate  gey- 
serite  deposits.  There  are  about  seven  hundred 
springs  and  geysers  here,  most  of  them  small.  The 
Fountain  Geyser  throws  a  broad  low  stream  of  many 
interlacing  jets  every  two  to  three  hours,  lasting 
about  fifteen  minutes.  The  "  Thud  "  Geyser  has  a 
crater  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  having 
a  smaller  rim  inside,  within  which  the  geyser  oper- 
ates, throwing  a  column  of  sixty  feet  with  a  heavy 
and  regular  u  thud  "  underground,  though  it  has  no 
fixed  period,  and  is  irregular  in  action.  This  basin 
has  a  generous  supply  of  mud  geysers,  known  as  the 
"paint  pots,"  which  eject  brilliantly  colored  muds 
with  the  consistency  and  look  of  paint,  the  prevail- 
ing hues  being  red,  white,  yellow  and  pink. 


496     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

About  three  miles  to  the  southwest,  farther  up  the 
Firehole  River,  is  the  Middle  Geyser  Basin.  It  is  a 
locality  covering  some  fifty  acres,  close  to  the  river, 
and  contains  the  greatest  geyser  in  the  world.  The 
name  of  HelPs  Half  Acre  was  given  this  place  in  the 
early  explorations,  and  still  sticks.  The  surface  is 
composed  mainly  of  hot  ashes,  with  streams  of  boil- 
ing water  running  over  it.  The  whole  basin  is  filled 
with  hot  springs,  and  surrounded  by  timbered  hills, 
at  the  foot  of  which  is  the  Prismatic  Lake,  its  beau- 
tiful green  and  blue  waters  shading  off  into  a  deposit 
of  bright  red  paint  running  down  to  the  river.  The 
great  Excelsior  Geyser  is  a  fountain  of  enormous 
power  but  uncertain  periods,  which  when  at  work 
throws  out  such  immense  amounts  of  water  as  to 
double  the  flow  of  the  river.  Its  crater  is  a  hundred 
yards  wide,  with  water  violently  boiling  in  the  centre 
all  the  time  and  a  steady  outflow.  The  sides  of  the 
crater  are  beautifully  colored  by  the  deposits,  which 
are  largely  of  sulphur.  It  is  a  geyser  of  modern 
origin,  having  developed  from  a  hot  spring  within 
the  memory  of  Park  denizens.  It  throws  a  column 
over  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  while  quiet  at  times 
for  years,  occasionally  bursts  forth,  though  having  no 
fixed  period.  In  close  connection  to  the  westward  is 
the  seething  cauldron  which  is  the  immediate  Hell's 
Half  Acre,  that  being  about  its  area — a  beautiful  but 
terrible  lake,  steam  constantly  rising  from  the  sur- 
face, which  boils  furiously  and  sends  copious  streams 


THE  UPPEE  FIREHOLE  BASIN.  497 

over  the  edges.  This  is  an  uncanny  spot,  with 
treacherous  footing  around,  and  about  the  hottest 
place  in  the  Park. 

THE   UPPER   FIREHOLE   BASIN. 

For  five  miles  along  the  desolate  shores  of  Fire- 
hole  River  the  course  is  now  taken  in  a  region  of 
mostly  extinct  geysers,  yet  with  active  hot  springs 
and  steam  jets,  and  having  ashes  and  cinders  cover- 
ing wide  spaces.  Ahead  is  the  largest  collection  of 
geysers  in  the  world,  with  clouds  of  steam  overhang- 
ing— the  Upper  Firehole  Basin.  Hot  water  runs 
over  the  earth,  and  the  u  paint  pots  "  color  the  sur- 
face in  variegated  hues.  Here  are  some  forty  of  the 
greatest  geysers  in  existence,  in  a  region  covering 
two  or  three  square  miles,  all  of  them  located  near 
the  river,  and  their  outflow  making  its  initial  current. 
The  basin  is  at  seventy-three  hundred  feet  elevation 
above  the  sea.  When  the  author  visited  this  extra- 
ordinary place  the  guide,  halting  at  the  verge,  said: 
11  Now  I  have  brought  you  to  the  front  door  of  hell." 
He  was  asked  if  there  were  any  Indians  about  there, 
and  solemnly  replied :  "  No  Indian  ever  comes  into 
this  country  unless  he  is  blind ;  only  the  white  man 
is  fool  enough  to  come  ;"  then  after  a  moment's  pause 
he  continued,  "And  I  get  paid  for  it,  I  do."  The 
great  stand-by  of  this  Upper  Basin,  and  the  geyser 
that  is  first  visited,  is  "  Old  Faithful,"  near  its  south- 
ern or  upper  end.     This  most  reliable  geyser,  which 


498     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

always  goes  off  at  the  time  appointed,  is  a  flat-topped 
and  gently  rising  cone  about  two  hundred  feet  in  di- 
ameter, and  elevated  towards  the  centre  about  twenty 
feet.  The  tube  is  an  orifice  of  eight  feet  by  two 
feet  wide  in  the  centre  of  this  cone,  with  water- worn 
and  rounded  rocks  enclosing  it.  Steam  escapes  all 
the  time,  and  the  hard,  scaly  and  laminated  surface 
around  it  seems  hollow  as  you  walk  across,  while  be- 
neath there  are  grumblings  and  dull  explosions, 
giving  warning  of  the  approaching  outburst.  Sev- 
eral mounds  of  extinct  geysers  are  near,  with  steam 
issuing  from  one  of  them,  but  all  have  long  since 
gone  out  of  active  business.  Soon  "Old  Faithful n 
gives  the  premonitory  symptoms  of  an  eruption. 
The  steam  jet  increases,  and  also  the  internal  rum- 
blings. Then  a  little  -spurt  of  hot  water  comes, 
hastily  receding  with  a  growl,  followed  by  more 
steam,  and  after  an  interval  more  growling,  finally  de- 
veloping into  repeated  little  spurts  of  hot  water,  oc- 
cupying several  minutes.  Then  the  geyser  suddenly 
explodes,  throwing  quick  jets  higher  and  higher  into 
the  air,  until  the  column  rises  in  a  grand  fountain  to 
the  height  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  the 
stream  inclined  to  the  northward,  and  falling  over  in 
great  splashes  upon  that  side  of  the  cone,  dense 
clouds  of  steam  and  spray  being  carried  by  the  wind., 
upon  which  the  sun  paints  a  rainbow.  After  some 
four  minutes  the  grand  jet  dies  gradually  down  to  a 
height  of  about  thirty  feet,  continuing  at  that  eleva- 


THE  UPPER  FIREHOLE  BASIN.  499 

tion  for  a  brief  time,  with  quickly  repeated  impulses. 
When  six  minutes  have  elapsed,  with  an  expir- 
ing leap  the  water  mounts  to  a  height  of  fifty  feet, 
there  is  a  final  outburst  of  steam,  and  all  is  over.  A 
deluge  of  hot  water  rushes  down  to  the  Firehole 
River ;  and  thus  "  Old  Faithful "  keeps  it  up  regu- 
larly every  hour.  The  eruption  being  ended,  you 
can  look  down  into  the  abyss  whence  it  came. 
Through  the  hot  steam,  rushing  out  with  a  strong 
draught,  there  is  a  view  far  down  into  the  rocky 
recesses  of  the  geyser.  The  water  left  by  the  erup- 
tion stands  about  in  transparent  shallow  pools,  and  is 
tinted  a  pale  blue.  "  Old  Faithful's  "  mound  is  built 
up  of  layers  of  geyserite — hard,  brittle,  porous,  full 
of  crevices,  and  having  all  about  little  basins  with 
turned-up  rims  that  retain  the  water.  This  geyser 
is  the  favorite  in  the  region,  not  only  because  of  its 
regular  performance,  but  possibly  because  its  odors 
are  somewhat  less  sulphurous  than  those  emanating 
elsewhere. 

The  geysers  of  the  Upper  Basin  contribute  prac- 
tically the  whole  current  of  the  Firehole  River,  their 
outflow  sending  into  the  stream  ten  million  gallons 
daily.  Across  the  river  to  the  northward,  close  to 
the  bank,  is  the  Beehive,  its  tube  looking  like  a  huge 
bird's  nest,  enclosed  by  a  pile  of  geyserite  resembling 
a  beehive,  three  feet  high  and  about  four  feet  in  di- 
ameter. Nearby  is  a  vent  from  which  steam,  escap- 
ing a  few  minutes  before  the  eruption,  gives  notice 

Vol.  1—22 


500     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  lyJESCRIPTIVE. 

of  its  coming.  The  water  column  shoots  up  two 
hundred  feet,  with  clouds  of  steam,  but  it  is  quite  un- 
certain, spouting  once  or  twice  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  usually  at  night.  Behind  the  Beehive  are  the 
Lion,  the  Lioness,  and  their  two  Cubs,  and  to  the 
eastward  of  the  latter  the  Giantess.  The  Lion  group 
has  only  uncertain  and  small  action,  while  the  Gi- 
antess is  on  the  summit  of  a  mound  fifty  feet  high, 
with  a  depressed  crater,  measuring  eighteen  by 
twenty-four  feet,  and  usually  filled  with  dark-blue 
water.  This  is  the  slowest  of  all  the  geysers  in  get- 
ting to  work,  acting  only  at  fortnightly  intervals,  but 
each  eruption  continues  the  greater  part  of  the  day, 
with  usually  long-previous  notice  by  violent  boiling 
and  internal  rumblings.  When  it  comes,  the  explo- 
sion is  terrific,  the  column  mounting  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  a  perfect  water-spout  the  full  size  of 
the  crater,  with  a  half-dozen  distinct  jets  forced 
through  it.  To  the  northwest  of  the  Lion  and  across 
the  river  is  the  Castle,  so  named  from  the  castellated 
construction  of  its  crater.  It  stands  upon  an  eleva- 
tion, the  side  towards  the  Firehole  falling  off  in  a 
series  of  rude  steps.  The  tube  is  elevated  about  ten 
feet  within  the  castle  and  is  four  feet  in  diameter.  It 
is  of  uncertain  eruption,  sometimes  playing  daily 
and  sometimes  every  other  day,  throwing  a  column 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  falling  in  a  sparkling 
shower,  continuing  about  forty  minutes,  and  then 
tapering  off  in  a  series  of  insignificant  spurts.     The 


THE  UPPER  FIEEHOLE  BASIN.  501 

Saw-Mill  is  not  far  away,  rather  insignificant,  its 
tube  being  only  six  inches  in  diameter,  set  in  a 
saucer-like  crater  about  twenty  feet  across ;  but  its 
water  column,  thrown  forty  feet  high,  gives  the 
peculiar  sounds  of  a  saw,  caused  by  the  action  of 
puffs  of  steam  coming  out  alternately  with  the  water 
jets.  It  generally  acts  in  unison  with  the  Grand 
Geyser,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  northward,  which  goes 
off  about  once  a  day.  The  Grand  Geyser  in  action 
is  most  powerful,  causing  the  earth  to  tremble,  while 
there  are  fearful  thumping  noises  beneath.  The 
water  in  the  crater  suddenly  recedes,  and  then 
quickly  spurts  upward  in  a  solid  column  for  two  hun- 
dred feet,  with  steam  rising  in  puffs  above.  The 
column  seems  to  be  composed  of  numerous  separate 
jets,  falling  back  with  a  thundering  sound  into  the 
funnel.  The  outburst  continues  a  few  minutes,  stops 
as  suddenly  as  it  starts,  and  is  repeated  six  or  eight 
times,  each  growing  less  powerful.  Along  the  river 
bank  nearby  are  the  Wash  Tubs,  small  basins  ten 
feet  in  diameter,  each  with  an  orifice  in  the  bottom. 
If  the  clothes  are  put  in,  the  washing  progresses 
finely  until  suddenly  out  goes  the  water,  and  with  it 
all  the  garments,  sucked  down  the  hole.  After  awhile 
the  basin  fills  again,  and  back  come  the  clothes, 
though  sometimes  they  are  very  dilatory  in  return- 
ing. The  Devil's  Well,  about  fifty  feet  away,  is 
usually  accused  of  complicity  in  this  movement.  It 
is  a  broad  and  placid  basin  of  hot  water,  with  a 


502     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

beautiful  blue  tinge,  in  which  tourists  sometimes  boil 
their  eggs  and  potatoes.  It  is  sentinelled  by  the 
Comet  Geyser,  exploding  several  times  daily,  but 
through  an  orifice  so  large  that  it  does  not  throw  a 
very  high  column. 

The  great  geyser  of  this  Upper  Basin  is  the  Giant. 
It  has  a  broken  cone  set  upon  an  almost  level  sur- 
face, with  the  enclosing  formation  fallen  away  on  one 
side,  the  interior  being  lined  with  brilliant  colors  like 
a  tessellated  pavement.  It  is  somewhat  uncertain  in 
movement,  but  usually  goes  off  every  fourth  day. 
It  gives  ample  notice,  certain  "  Little  Devils "  ad- 
joining, and  a  vent  in  the  side  of  the  crater,  boiling 
some  time  before  it  sends  up  .the  enormous  column 
which  plays  ninety  minutes.  The  outburst,  when  it 
starts,  comes  like  a  tornado,  and  the  stream  from  it 
runs  into  and  more  than  doubles  the  current  of  the 
river.  The  column  is  eight  feet  in  diameter,  rises 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  at  first,  and  is  afterwards 
maintained  at  two  hundred  feet.  There  is  a  deafen- 
ing noise,  and  the  steam  clouds  seem  to  cover  half 
the  valley.  The  column  goes  up  perfectly  straight, 
and  falls  back  around  the  cone  with  a  deluge  of  hot 
water.  The  Catfish,  a  small  geyser,  is  nearby,  and 
to  the  northward  a  short  distance  is  the  Grotto.  This 
is  an  odd  formation,  its  crater  perforated  with  orifices 
around  a  low,  elongated  mound,  which  point  in  dif- 
ferent directions  j  and  when  it  goes  off  at  six-hour 
intervals,  the  eruption  is  by  streams  at  an  angle. 


THE  UPPER  FIREHOLE  BASIN.  503 

giving  a  curious  sort  of  churning  motion  to  the  water 
column,  which  rises  forty  feet,  continuing  twenty 
minutes.  The  Riverside  has  a  little  crater  on  a  ter- 
raced mound  just  at  the  river's  edge,  and  is  a  small, 
irregular  but  vigorous  spouter,  throwing  a  stream 
sixty  feet.  The  Fan  has  five  spreading  tubes, 
arranged  so  that  they  make  a  huge  fan-like  eruption, 
one  hundred  feet  high  in  the  centre,  this  display, 
given  three  or  four  times  a  day,  continuing  about 
fifteen  minutes.  The  Splendid  plays  a  jet  two  hun- 
dred feet  high  every  three  hours,  continuing  ten 
minutes,  and  may  be  spurred  to  quicker  action. 
The  Pyramid  and  the  Punch  Bowl  are  geysers  that 
have  ceased  operations.  The  former  is  now  only  a 
steam-jet,  and  the  latter,  on  a  flat  mound,  is  an  ele- 
gant blue  pool,  elevated  several  feet,  and  having  a 
serrated  edge.  The  Morning  Glory  Spring,  named 
from  its  resemblance  to  the  convolvulus,  is  a  beautiful 
and  most  delicately  tinted  pool.  The  investigators 
of  these  geysers  have  been  able  to  get  the  tempera- 
ture at  a  depth  of  seventy  feet  within  the  tubes,  and 
find  that  under  the  pressure  there  exerted  the  boil- 
ing-point is  250°.  Upon  this  fact  is  based  the  theory 
of  the  operation  of  the  geyser.  The  boiling-point 
under  pressure  at  the  bottom  of  a  long  tube  being 
much  higher  than  at  the  top,  the  expansive  force 
of  the  steam  there  suddenly  generated  drives  out 
violently  the  water  above  it  in  the  tube,  and  hence 
the  explosive  spouting. 


504     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


YELLOWSTONE  FALLS   AND   CANYON. 

The  National  Park,  besides  the  extraordinary  gey- 
ser and  hot-spring  formations  exhibits  the  grand 
scenery  of  the  Yellowstone  Falls  and  Canyon.  The 
Yellowstone  River  has  its  source  in  Bridger  Lake,  to 
the  southeast  of  the  Park,  and  flows  northward  in  a 
broad  valley  between  generally  snow-capped  moun- 
tain ridges  of  volcanic  origin,  with  some  of  the  peaks 
rising  over  eleven  thousand  feet.  It  is  a  sluggish 
stream,  with  heavily  timbered  banks,  much  of  the 
initial  valley  being  marshy,  and  it  flows  into  the  Yel- 
lowstone Lake,  the  largest  sheet  of  water  at  a  high 
elevation  in  North  America.  This  lake  has  bays  in- 
dented in  its  western  and  southern  shores,  giving  the 
irregular  outline  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  human 
hand,  and  there  are  five  of  them,  called  the  u  Thumb  " 
and  the  "Fingers."  The  thumb  of  this  distorted 
hand  is  thicker  than  its  length,  the  forefinger  is  de- 
tached and  shrivelled,  the  middle  finger  has  also  been 
badly  treated,  and  the  much  swollen  little  finger  is 
the  biggest  of  all,  thus  making  a  very  demoralized 
hand.  The  trail  eastward  over  from  the  Upper  Fire- 
hole  Geyser  Basin  comes  out  on  the  West  Thumb  of 
the  lake,  mounting  the  Continental  Divide  on  the 
way,  and  crossing  it  twice  as  it  makes  a  curious  loop 
to  the  northward,  the  second  crossing  being  at  eighty- 
five  hundred  feet  elevation,  whence  the  trail  descends 
So  the  West  Thumb.    Yellowstone  Lake  is  at  seventy- 


YELLOWSTONE  FALLS  AND  CANYON.        505 

seven  hundred  and  forty  feet  elevation,  and  covers 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles,  having  a 
hundred  miles  of  coast-line.  The  scenery  is  tame, 
the  shores  being  usually  gentle  slopes,  with  much 
marsh  and  pine  woods.  Islands  dot  the  blue  waters, 
and  waterfowl  frequent  the  marshes.  The  most  ele- 
vated portion  of  the  immediate  environment  is  Flat 
Mountain,  on  the  southwestern  side,  rising  five  hun- 
dred feet,  but  beyond  the  eastern  shore  are  some  of 
the  highest  peaks  of  the  Park,  exceeding  eleven 
thousand  feet.  Hot  springs  adjoin  the  West  Thumb, 
and  there  is  an  actual  geyser  crater  in  the  lake  itself. 
Towards  the  northern  end  the  shores  gradually  con- 
tract into  the  narrow  and  shallow  Yellowstone  River, 
which  flows  towards  the  northwest  after  first  leaving 
the  lake,  having  occasional  hot  springs,  geysers, 
paint  pots  and  steam  jets  at  work,  with  large  adja- 
cent surfaces  of  geyserite  and  sulphur.  The  chief 
curiosity  in  operation  is  the  Giant's  Cauldron,  boiling 
furiously,  and  with  a  roar  that  can  be  heard  far 
away.  The  pretty  Alum  Creek  is  crossed,  its  waters, 
thus  tainted,  giving  the  name.  South  of  this  the 
Yellowstone  is  generally  placid,  winding  for  a  dozen 
miles  sluggishly  through  prairie  and  timbered  hills, 
but  now  it  contracts  and  rushes  for  a  mile  down 
rapids  and  over  pretty  cascades  to  the  Upper  Fall. 

Restricted  to  a  width  of  but  eighty  feet,  the  river 
shoots  far  over  this  fall,  the  current  being  thrown 
outward,  indicating  there  must  be  room  to  pass  be- 


606     AMEEICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

hind  it.  The  fall  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet, 
and  suddenly  turning  a  right  angle  at  its  foot,  the 
stream  of  beautiful  green  passes  through  a  not  very 
deep  canyon.  The  appearance  of  the  surrounding 
cliffs  is  quite  Alpine,  though  the  rocks  forming  the 
cascade  constantly  suffer  from  erosion.  About  a 
half-mile  below  is  the  great  Lower  Falls  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone. Before  reaching  it,  a  little  stream  comes 
into  the  river  over  the  Crystal  Fall,  about  eighty  feet 
high,  rushing  down  a  gorge  forming  a  perfect  grotto 
in  the  side  of  the  canyon,  extending  some  distance 
under  the  overhanging  rocks.  The  surface  of  the 
plateau  gradually  ascends  as  the  Lower  Falls  are 
approached,  while  the  river  bed  descends,  and  this 
makes  a  deep  canyon,  brilliantly  colored,  generally  a 
light  yellow  (thus  naming  the  river),  but  in  many 
portions  white,  like  marble,  with  patches  of  orange, 
the  whole  being  streaked  and  spotted  with  the  dark- 
gray  rocks,  whose  sombre  color  in  this  region  is  pro- 
duced by  atmospheric  action.  The  river  rushes  to 
the  brink  of  the  Lower  Fall,  and  where  it  goes  over, 
the  current  is  not  over  a  hundred  feet  wide,  the  de- 
scent of  the  cataract  being  about  three  hundred  feet, 
and  the  column  of  falling  waters  dividing  into  sepa- 
rate white  streaks,  which  are  lost  in  clouds  of  spray 
before  reaching  the  bottom.  Only  a  small  amount  of 
water  usually  goes  over,  about  twelve  hundred  cubic 
feet  in  a  second.  Before  the  plunge  the  water  forms 
a  basin  of  dark-green  color,  and  both  blue  and  green 


YELLOWSTONE  FALLS  AND  CANYON.        507 

tints  mingle  with  the  prevailing  white  of  the  cascade. 
Towards  sunset,  when  viewed  from  below,  there  are 
admirable  rainbow  effects.  The  river  is  quite  narrow 
as  it  flows  away  along  the  bottom  of  the  canyon, 
which  now  becomes  deep  and  large.  The  grand  view 
of  this  beautiful  picture  is  from  Point  Lookout,  a 
half-mile  below  the  falls.  Unlike  any  other  of  the 
world's  great  waterfalls,  this  cascade,  while  a  part, 
ceases  to  be  the  chief  feature  of  the  scene.  It  is  the 
vivid  coloring  and  remarkable  formation  of  the  sides 
of  the  canyon  that  make  the  chief  impression. 
These  change  as  the  sun  gives  light  and  shadow,  the 
morning  differing  from  noon  and  noon  from  night. 
It  is  impossible  to  reproduce  or  properly  describe  the 
beautiful  hues  in  this  wonderful  picture.  The  pre- 
vailing tint  is  a  light  yellow,  almost  sulphur  color, 
with  veins  of  white  marble  and  bright  red  streaked 
through  it.  The  colors  blend  admirably,  while  the 
cascade  in  the  background  seems  enclosed  in  a  set- 
ting of  chocolate-brown  rocks,  contrasting  pictur- 
esquely with  the  brighter  foreground.  Throughout 
the  grand  scene,  great  rocky  columns  and  pinnacles 
arise,  their  brilliant  hues  maintained  to  the  tops,  and 
the  scattered  pines  clinging  to  these  huge  columnar 
formations  give  a  green  tinge  to  parts  of  the  picture. 
The  ctebris,  forming  an  inclined  base  about  half-way 
down,  is  colored  as  brilliantly  as  the  rocks  above, 
from  which  it  has  fallen.  In  the  view  over  the  can- 
yon from  Point  Lookout,  the  contracted  white  streak 


508     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

of  the  cascade  above  the  spray  cloud  is  but  a  small 
part  of  the  background,  while  the  river  below  is  only 
a  narrow  green  ribbon,  edged  by  these  brilliant  hues. 
Some  distance  farther  down  the  canyon,  another  out- 
look at  Inspiration  Point  gives  a  striking  view  from 
an  elevation  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  river  of 
the  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  upper  canyon. 

This  grand  Canyon  of  the  Yellowstone  extends,  as 
the  river  flows,  a  distance  of  about  twenty-four  miles. 
It  is  a  depression  in  a  volcanic  plateau  elevated 
about  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  gradu- 
ally declining  towards  the  northern  end  of  the  can- 
yon. Above  the  Upper  Fall  the  river  level  is  almost 
at  the  top  of  the  plateau,  and  the  falls  and  rapids  de- 
press the  stream  bed  about  thirteen  hundred  feet. 
About  midway  along  the  canyon,  on  the  western  side, 
is  Washburne  Mountain,  the  surface  from  it  declining 
in  both  directions,  so  that  there  the  canyon  is  deepest, 
measuring  twelve  hundred  feet.  Across  the  top,  the 
width  varies  from  four  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred 
yards,  the  angle  of  slope  down  to  the  bottom  being 
fully  45°,  and  often  much  steeper,  in  some  cases 
almost  perpendicular  where  the  top  width  is  narrowest. 
This  Grand  Canyon  is  the  beautiful  beginning,  as  it 
were,  of  the  largest  river  in  the  world, — the  Mis- 
souri and  the  Mississippi.  Upon  the  trail  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  National  Park  which  goes  over 
from  the  Firehole  River  to  the  West  Thumb,  and  at 
quite  an  elevation  upon  the  Continental  Divide,  there 


WESTWAED  THE  COURSE  OP  EMPIBR       509 

is  a  quiet  little  sheet  of  water,  having  two  small 
streams  flowing  from  its  opposite  sides.  To  the 
eastward  a  babbling  brook  goes  down  into  the  West 
Thumb  of  the  Yellowstone  Lake,  while  to  the  south- 
west another  small  creek  flows  over  the  boulders  to- 
wards Shoshone  Lake.  This  scanty  sheet  of  water, 
properly  named  the  Two-Ocean  Pond,  actually  feeds 
both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  The  one 
stream  gets  its  outlet  through  the  Mississippi  and 
the  other  through  the  Columbia  River  of  Oregon. 

WESTWARD   THE   COURSE   OP  EMPIRE. 

Here,  in  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  with  the 
waters  flowing  towards  both  the  rising  and  the  setting 
sun,  is  the  backbone  of  the  American  Continent.  Be- 
yond it  the  country  stretches  through  the  spacious 
Rocky  Mountain  ranges  to  the  Pacific.  What  is  herein 
described  gives  an  idea  of  the  vast  empire  ceded  to  the 
United  States  by  France  in  the  early  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  this  Great  Northwest  is  gradually  becoming 
the  masterful  ruling  section  of  the  country.  When 
Bishop  Berkeley,  in  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
sitting  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean  waves  at  Newport, 
composed  his  famous  lyric  on  the  "  course  of  empire," 
he  little  thought  how  typical  it  was  to  become  more 
than  a  century  after  his  death.  He  was  musing  then 
u  On  the  Prospect  of  Planting  Arts  and  Learning  in 
America."  The  Arts  and  the  Learning  have  had 
vigorous  American  growth,  but  his  Muse  predicted 


510     AMERICA,  PICTURESQUE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

a  greater   empire    than   any  one    could   have  then 
imagined. 

"The  Muse,  disgusted  at  an  age  and  clime 
Barren  of  every  glorious  theme, 
In  distant  lands  now  waits  a  better  time, 
Producing  subjects  worthy  fame. 

"  In  happy  climes,  where  from  the  genial  sun 
And  virgin  earth  such  scenes  ensue, 
The  force  of  Art  by  Nature  seems  outdone, 
And  fancied  beauties  by  the  true  ; 

"  In  happy  climes,  the  seat  of  innocence, 
Where  Nature  guides  and  Virtue  rules, 
Where  men  shall  not  impose  for  truth  and 
The  pedantry  of  courts  and  schools  ; 

"  There  shall  be  sung  another  golden  age, 
The  rise  of  empire  and  of  arts, 
The  good  and  great  inspiring  epic  rage, 
The  wisest  heads  and  noblest  hearts. 

"Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay ; 
Such  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 
When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  clay, 
By  future  poets  shall  be  sung. 

Ci  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  ; 
The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day ; 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 


END   OF  VOLUME  I. 


m 


14  DAY  USE 

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